Barcelona Dropped Their João Pedro Interest. the Brazilian Has Already Scored Seven Preseason Goals

Barcelona are still searching for a centre-forward, while one of the players previously considered by Deco has spent the summer scoring for fun. João Pedro finished Chelsea’s preseason with seven goals. The London club, however, always had a fairly simple plan: keep their leading goalscorer.

The Brazilian completed his impressive preparations with a brace in Chelsea’s 3–1 victory over Real Sociedad. He first headed home a cross from Reece James before beating Álex Remiro in a one-on-one situation. Chelsea’s official website confirmed that these were his sixth and seventh goals of the summer.

João Pedro’s full tally consists of a hat-trick against Western Sydney Wanderers and two braces, against Milan and Real Sociedad. Seven goals across three matches should be convincing enough to prevent anyone at Stamford Bridge from suddenly considering a special discount for Barcelona.

According to FCBarca.com, the forward had been on the Catalan club’s radar. Deco’s trips to London fuelled reports that João Pedro could eventually replace Robert Lewandowski. His profile was said to appeal to both Barcelona’s sporting director and Hansi Flick.

It soon became clear, however, that Chelsea had no intention of negotiating. João Pedro was voted the club’s Player of the Season after scoring 20 goals in all competitions during the previous campaign. Following Xabi Alonso’s arrival, the Brazilian was selected as one of the central figures in Chelsea’s new project. The English club therefore did something surprisingly sensible during a transfer window: it decided that an important player was too important to sell.

Barcelona spent their money elsewhere and signed Anthony Gordon. The England international can operate on either wing, but Flick used him as a centre-forward for his debut against FC Basel. It is an option Barcelona can use while continuing their search for a traditional number nine following Ferran Torres’ departure.

This is not a story about Barcelona rejecting a striker they could have signed easily. Chelsea simply did not want to sell him. The timing is still rather cruel: while the Catalan club continue examining candidates for their attack, one of their former targets has completed preseason with seven goals, and their expensive new winger is already being tested through the middle.