£100m star wants to join Chelsea

Chelsea are one of the sides that can benefit from the early transfer window before the Club World Cup.

The Blues are competing in the new look 32-team competition in the United States of America at the end of the season, and could look to strengthen their squad before the competition in the initial transfer window at the start of June.

One man who Chelsea have been linked with signing is Liam Delap. The Ipswich Town striker will surely leave the club this summer, given he has a £30m release clause.

However, a recent report from Football Insider suggests Manchester United are ‘in pole position’ to sign the Englishman.

The Blues clearly want to sign a new striker this season, with an alternative name on their list if they miss out on Delap.

Chelsea’s Delap alternative

So, if the West London outfit miss out on Delap this summer, then one of their alternative options could well be Brighton and Hove Albion attacker Joao Pedro.

After an impressive season from the Brazilian, he has been linked with a move away from the South Coast.

According to a report from Football Insider, the Seagulls attacker is a player that ‘they’ve looked at’ this summer, with a potential transfer on the cards.

Former chief scout at Man United, Mick Brown, says he has heard Pedro has ‘spoken to people around him about a move, and he would be interested in Chelsea’ this summer.

However, this would not be a cheap deal. Although Football Insider suggest he is worth £70m, a report last week from TEAMtalk states that the Seagulls would want £100m for their talismanic attacker.

How Joao Pedro compares to Liam Delap

It has been a strong campaign for both Brighton and Pedro, who has continued his excellent form on the South Coast after a strong debut year.

In 27 Premier League appearances this season, the Brazilian has managed ten goals and six assists. Having played 1,953 minutes for the Seagulls, he averages a goal involvement every 122 minutes. As analyst and writer Dougie Critchley said, he is a “special” player.

The other thing that really stands out about the 23-year-old is his ability to score crucial goals against some of the biggest teams in the league. This term, he has found the back of the net against Arsenal twice, Man United and Manchester City, against whom he also grabbed an assist.

If the Blues do indeed sign Pedro as an alternative to Delap, then he would certainly bring more to the table in terms of his all-around contribution than the 22-year-old.

It has been an impressive season for the son of Stoke cult hero Rory, given he has notched up 12 goals in his debut Premier League term.

However, the Brighton attacker has certainly been a real creative force, more so than Delap in many ways. Pedro has registered six assists compared to the former Man City player’s two, suggesting more of an involvement in overall play.

In fact, the stats via FBref suggest that the Brazilian would bring more to the table in his general play than the Englishman would. For example, he averages 1.39 key passes and 3.61 progressive passes per 90 minutes, compared to 0.73 key passes and 1.05 progressive passes each game for the Ipswich star.

There is no doubt that the deal to sign Delap is a better one in terms of cost, with a £70m difference. However, the £100m they would have to invest in Pedro might well be worth it, given he is better than the Englishman in his overall play.

At 23 years of age, he has plenty of time to develop and become even more clinical in front of goal, plus he already knows how to create chances and bring his teammates into play.