Chelsea ‘Knocks Out’ Newcastle To Sign Joao Pedro, Todd Boehly strikes again

Chelsea’s weekend was extremely fruitful both on and off the pitch, with two new attackers set to join the club after their Club World Cup victory over Benfica.

The Blues are set to add Jamie Gittens and Joao Pedro to their ranks, as Enzo Maresca looks to revolutionise his forward options going into next season.

Pedro decided he wanted to join Chelsea in the last few days, despite heavy interest from Newcastle in signing the Brighton forward.

However, the Blues planned to have Pedro in their Club World Cup squad in time to take on future teammate Estevao Willian and Palmeiras.

With them not yet reaching the deadline, it is expected that the Brazilian will be able to join up with his new squad in time for their quarter-final tie.

Despite having a major bid rejected for Pedro, Chelsea were not put off, and The Chelsea Chronicle understands the Blues launched a £60m bid to secure his services.

According to transfer insider Graeme Bailey, this ‘caught Newcastle off guard’, and saw them beat Eddie Howe’s side to the deal.

He said: “Chelsea came back in strongly after initial bids from them and Newcastle was turned down. Chelsea upped the deal to £60million and this caught Newcastle off guard and they could not, well would not match it.

“Chelsea want him in for the Club World Cup – they see him as the ideal replacement for Christopher Nkunku – ability to play out wide, but they also like that he can offer that central role more and he is likely to now be classed as their third striker, which as we know they wanted.”

The new signing will be keen to form friendships quickly at his new club, however he will perhaps find it more difficult with one key player than others.

Enzo Fernandez will already have international rivalry with the Brazilian due to being from Argentina, however it has previously spilled over onto the pitch.

Fernandez and Pedro confronted each other during a Premier League game between Chelsea and Brighton, with the Blues coming out on top and the World Cup winner scoring twice.

With both players likely to play a key role in Maresca’s side, they will need to put any differences aside before becoming teammates for the first time.