Chelsea summer signing already being tipped to leave for Barcelona or Real Madrid

Joao Pedro’s time at Chelsea could end up being brief with the Brazilian star already being talked up as a future star of either Real Madrid or Barcelona and with claims about his ‘difficult’ reputation being cleared up by a pundit.

The Blues have paid Brighton a fee in excess of £50m (€58m, $68.3m) to bring in the 23-year-old attacker from Brighton, with the three-times capped Brazil international signing a seven-year deal at Stamford Bridge through to summer 2032. Having been brought in as their second attacking addition of the summer alongside Liam Delap, Joao Pedro is added to the already bulging list of attacking options at manager Enzo Maresca’s service.

However, while winger Jamie Gittens has also agreed to sign, further adding to those attacking options, the Blues are ready to sanction four big-name departures – with Christopher Nkunku pushing to be the first one out the door at Chelsea.

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Those exits should help Joao Pedro’s chances of starting regularly at Stamford Bridge next season, and with pundit Troy Deeney not just backing him to become a huge success for the Blues, but also a future transfer target for Real Madrid and Barcelona.

“He’ll bring an intensity – that’s what Joao will bring. He’s obviously an exceptional football player,” Deeney told talkSPORT.

“If Chelsea start competing both in the Champions League and in the Premier League, he will be part of that vehicle,” Deeney added when asked if Pedro’s Brazil ambitions were realistic.

“When you look at the Brazilian national team, it’s not as strong as some of the teams we’ve seen over the years so he will look at that and say ‘Yes I can do that (get in the team)’.

“I think if he does well for two years there [Chelsea], Real Madrid and Barcelona will come knocking and Chelsea have a model of buying young and selling on for more than what they paid for.”

Joao Pedro’s trouble-maker reputation dismissed

Joao Pedro has earned something of a reputation in recent times as being something of a difficult footballer to work with, amid claims he has a tendency to sulk when things don’t go his way.

However, Deeney has played those claims down and thinks the player is just someone who backs himself for success and feels he is destined to play at the very highest level.

“We were just talking about the social media clips Chelsea have put up on training and he’s throwing his weight around already,” Deeney added.

“He is all or nothing. I think the misconception is that he’s a troublemaker – he’s absolutely not that at all.

“He’s passionate, he’s energetic, he wants to win and play every minute of every game, but I think at Chelsea now you’re going to see the real Joao Pedro who is one that enjoys competition and believes he should be starting for Brazil.

“I’ve seen this player since he was 18 years old, and the mentality has not changed one bit. It’s always been ‘I want to be the best; I want to play for my national team, and I want to be the new R9 (Ronaldo)’.”

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