If we just ignore the minor injury crisis, this looks set to be an incredibly exciting campaign for Chelsea.
Granted, Enzo Maresca’s side did drop points in their Premier League season opener, but back-to-back wins against London competition have proven that they’re a better team than last year.
That shouldn’t be much of a surprise, though, as the Blues made a host of brilliant signings over the summer, including Joao Pedro, who already looks more than settled.
That said, Todd Boehly and Co will hope he keeps up the good form as they’ve already made a significant loss on someone who’s been compared to him.
Joao Pedro's start to life at Chelsea
Chelsea were quick to sign Pedro this summer, paying Brighton & Hove Albion around £60m and bringing him in before the end of the Club World Cup campaign.
It was a good thing they did, as the Brazilian made an instant impact, scoring three goals in three appearances in the competition, including one in the final against Champions League champions Paris Saint-Germain.
His brilliant form continued into pre-season with a couple of goals against Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan, before his first blank in the season opener against Crystal Palace.
However, you can’t keep such an incredible player down for too long, and away to West Ham United, the former Watford ace got back up and running with a headed goal, and then he grabbed another goal at home to Fulham on Saturday.
In all, it’s hard to think of another signing in the Premier League this season who has got off to as good a start as the prolific forward has.
It’s not just the goals either, as the 23-year-old dynamo has also provided two assists in the league so far, and his overall play makes him stand out wherever he is on the pitch.
Interestingly, Chelsea signed a player who has been compared to Pedro, but instead of him becoming a success in West London, he was just sold for a sizable loss.
Chelsea's former Pedro
Given the number of players Chelsea have signed over the years, it’s no surprise that they’ve had more than their fair share of duds.
Where Are They Now
Yet, unlike many teams, the Blues are remarkably good at either minimising their losses on these players or even making a small profit on them.
Unfortunately, that did not happen with Christopher Nkunku.
The French international joined the Blues under former boss Mauricio Pochettino in the summer of 2023 for a fee of around £52m, and after two disappointing years in West London, was sold for up to £36m to AC Milan this summer.
While that isn’t too bad a fee to get for the player, it does represent a £16m loss, which is quite sizable for a player who has been compared to Pedro.
Yes, the former RB Leipzig gem, who could only muster a tally of 18 goals and five assists in 62 appearances for the Blues, has been likened to Maresca’s new star.
The comparison stems from FBref, which has concluded that the new Milan man was the sixth most similar attacking midfielder or winger to the former Brighton ace in the Premier League last season.
We can see how such a conclusion was reached by delving into some of the underlying numbers in which the pair ranked so closely.
These include metrics such as non-penalty goals plus assists, key passes, shot and goal-creating actions and more, all per 90.
Non-Penalty G+As
0.51
0.49
Key Passes
1.39
1.37
Shot-Creating Actions
3.32
3.32
Goal-Creating Actions
0.42
0.39
Ball Recoveries
2.73
2.84
These numbers do suggest that the underwhelming Frenchman is still a talented attacker, but just someone who could not get to grips with life in the Premier League and turn good underlying numbers into concrete results.
Away from the stats, the other similarity between the two players is their ability to start in various positions, from up top to out wide and even in attacking midfield.
Ultimately, Pedro looks like the real deal for Chelsea, and while there is always a chance things don’t work out, it feels like he’ll succeed where Nkunku failed.
