Chelsea make contact to sign “insane” £70m ace

The season proper might have come to an end in European glory for Chelsea, but Enzo Maresca’s men have a busy summer ahead of them.

The West Londoners will be looking to keep the good times rolling by winning the revamped Club World Cup and heading into next season’s Premier League in red-hot form.

However, to ensure the squad can build upon their top-five finish and make it deep into the Champions League, the board need to keep up their efforts in the transfer window and bring in even more talent.

Fortunately, recent reports have now linked the Blues with a talented goalscorer who could be an even better signing than Jamie Gittens.

Chelsea transfer news

Chelsea have already been incredibly busy this summer, securing the services of Ipswich Town star Liam Delap, Strasbourg’s Mamadou Sarr and Sporting CP’s Dário Essugo, yet they look likely to sign more talents in the coming weeks.

One of the names most heavily touted for a move to the Blues has been Borussia Dortmund star Gittens, with reports linking the Englishman with the club dating back as far as October last year, but seriously heating up in recent weeks.

In fact, stories from this week claimed that the winger was now a top priority for the West Londoners, and yet, as things stand, he is still very much a player for the German giants.

Now, while he would undoubtedly be an exciting addition to Maresca’s squad, another player has now been touted for a move to Stamford Bridge, a player who’d be an even better signing: Joao Pedro.

According to a recent report from transfers expert Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea are now interested in the Brighton & Hove Albion star, who is “highly appreciated” by many at the club.

Furthermore, the Italian journalist claims that initial contact has already been made and that the player will be allowed to leave this summer.

However, it might not be all that straightforward, with Newcastle United also said to be interested, while other reports claim that it’ll take a fee of around £70m for the Seagulls to let him go.

It could be a complicated and costly transfer to get over the line, but with Pedro’s ability, it is one worth fighting for, especially as he’d be a better signing than Gittens.

Why Pedro would be a better signing than Gittens

So, the first thing to make clear is that both Gittens and Pedro would be great signings for Chelsea this summer, but there are a couple of reasons why, at the moment anyway, the latter would be the better acquisition for the Blues.

The first is that he’s simply the more productive attacker and, therefore, is more likely to come in and hit the ground running in West London.

For example, in 30 appearances, totalling 2136 minutes, the “insane” Ribeirão Preto-born monster, as dubbed by analyst Ben Mattinson, scored ten goals and provided seven assists, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.76 games, or every 125.64 minutes.

In contrast, the Englishman scored 12 goals and provided five assists but did so in 49 appearances, totalling 2803 minutes, which comes out to a significantly less impressive average of a goal involvement every 2.88 games, or one every 164.88 minutes.

On top of him simply being more effective than the 20-year-old, the former Watford ace has also got far more experience, and most crucially, the experience of playing and thriving in the Premier League.

Now, that might sound like an unfair stick to beat the Dortmund star with, but as the Blues will be looking to do better than simply qualifying for the Champions League again next season, they’ll need attackers who can come straight into the team and impress from the word go, which might not happen for someone coming from another league.

Ultimately, while both Gittens and Pedro are talented players who could bring a lot to Maresca’s squad this summer, the latter’s experience and proven level of output mean he’d be the better signing.

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