It would be safe to say that Chelsea are not having the season that they would have hoped for. After winning the Club World Cup, it had looked like the BlueCo project was on the right path. But it has all come down like a house of cards. Enzo Maresca left in the middle of the season. Liam Rosenior lasted only three months in the job. And Calum McFarlane was not able to get a performance out of them against the B team of a 16th-placed Nottingham Forest, who had their eyes on the Europa League semi-final already.
That is how bad things have gotten for Chelsea. They have lost six league games in a row for the first time since 1993. They have lost four straight at home for only the second time in the club’s history. The only other time was back in 1978.
At least they did end their scoreless run yesterday with Joao Pedro scoring a tremendous goal that was worthy of winning any game of football, not end up being a consolation.
The Brazilian forward has been one of the rare bright spots for Chelsea this season. And it looks like he is already drawing the interest of Europe’s top teams.
Fabrizio Romano confirms Barcelona interest in Joao Pedro
There has been all this talk about FC Barcelona holding an interest in Joao Pedro. It has been suggested that he is viewed as an alternative to Julian Alvarez.
Fabrizio Romano has suggested that there is truth to that idea. He said while speaking on his YouTube channel:
“Many questions on Joao Pedro being the alternative to Julian Alvarez for Barcelona in the attacking positions. Guys, the reality on Joao Pedro from what I understand. Joao Pedro is for sure a player super appreciated by Barcelona. He is a player that Deco, Barcelona director, was monitoring even before he joined Chelsea. For Deco, he was a super appreciated player already at Brighton. So for sure, Joao Pedro is a player really, really liked at Barcelona.”
That being said, the Italian journalist has also clarified that it is Chelsea who hold most of the cards in this situation. Romano said while speaking on the same video:
“In this case, for Joao Pedro, probably the best player at Chelsea this season, you can imagine in a complicated season for the club with the manager leaving, having also Joao Pedro leaving at the end of the summer would mean probably a bad message coming from Chelsea. And so at the moment, the understanding is that Chelsea count on Joao Pedro for present and future. Then if you ask me, ‘Do Barca appreciate Joao Pedro?’ I tell you yes, they appreciate Joao Pedro since he was at Brighton, but who doesn’t?”
A Chelsea exit looks unlikely for Joao Pedro
Well, it is great to see that an exit is not on the cards for Pedro. He is one of the quality players that Chelsea have right now.
He is the type of player that the club’s next manager should think about building around in the future. One of the few in the current squad who should remain a regular starter in the upcoming campaign, even if BlueCo get their summer business spot-on.
Then again, one can imagine why interest from clubs like Barcelona might be enough to turn the head of players. Chelsea are not in a position where a lot of top players would want to come here. And without them, it is hard to see how this ‘project’ gets going again. BlueCo have painted themselves into a corner trying to reinvent the game that they no prior experience in.
