John Obi Mikel makes interesting prediction about Joao Pedro after watching his Chelsea debut in Palmeiras win
Joao Pedro helped his side reach the Club World Cup semi-finals during his first minutes as a Chelsea player.
On Saturday, Chelsea beat Palmeiras by a 2-1 scoreline in the Club World Cup quarter-finals, which sets up a meeting in the last four with Fluminense.
Joao Pedro, who only signed for the Blues earlier this week, entered the quarter-final early in the second period when the score was level.
Even though the Brazilian forward is still waiting for his first goal or assist in Chelsea colours, he added an extra spark to his side’s play in the No.9 position. In fact, Cole Palmer said Pedro changed the momentum in Chelsea’s favour to help beat Palmeiras.
John Obi Mikel predicts big things for Joao Pedro at Chelsea
John Obi Mikel, the former Chelsea star, was extremely encouraged by what he saw from Pedro during his first Blues appearance.
In fact, he’s now tipped the 23-year-old attacker to be a “very, very good signing” at Stamford Bridge.
During DAZN’s coverage of Chelsea’s win against Palmeiras, Mikel said: “He (Joao Pedro) was lively. He came into the game. He was very, very positive. We could see some good flashes of the kind of player he is. His first touch was really, really good.
“He was very, very hungry and wanted to show exactly why he’s at the football club, and that’s what you wanted to see. For me, I think he’s going to be a very, very good signing for us… He hasn’t trained with the team for such a long time, but to perform this way is absolutely fantastic. It’s great to see.”
Even though he’s extremely versatile, Pedro has claimed his best position is at striker. Therefore, he must have been delighted that his first minutes for his new club came at the point of attack.
On paper, it looks like a shootout between Pedro, Liam Delap and Nicolas Jackson for Chelsea’s central striker role.
The bonus for Pedro is that he can play multiple attacking positions, so his first aim should be breaking into the best XI at Stamford Bridge.
Joao Pedro shares what Enzo Maresca told him before Chelsea debut
Speaking after his Blues debut, Pedro shared that he was given a licence from head coach Enzo Maresca to play his natural game when he entered the action against Palmeiras.
Pedro said via Chelsea’s official website: “The manager told me to play free, do my best and I think I did. It’s important we got through to the next round.”
In fairness, Maresca certainly managed to unlock something in Pedro, albeit across a very minute sample size. We feel like the new signing is the type of expressive footballer who needs freedom to try things on a pitch.
Reports claimed that Maresca loves the versatility in Pedro’s game, so we’ll be keeping a close eye on him to see if he continues to lead the line or drifts into different attacking positions.
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