For a while, it looked as though Newcastle United would finally get their man after tracking Brazilian forward João Pedro for over two years, with the Magpies making a bid for the star and being reported as frontrunners for his signature.
Just as we were starting to believe that Newcastle were going to seal the deal, Chelsea entered the race, and the narrative shifted. Suddenly, João Pedro only had eyes for a move to Stamford Bridge.
It wasn't entirely unexpected that he would choose a move to the Blues after his Brighton teammate, Igor Julio, revealed in an interview that João Pedro had always wanted to live and play in London.
Now, after making the move, the 23-year-old has spoken to Chelsea's official website about opting to join Enzo Maresca's side.
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João Pedro 'grew up watching Chelsea' ... That old chestnut
João Pedro has stated his desire to win trophies with Chelsea.
"I grew up watching the Premier League, and Chelsea were a club that won trophies. So, when you join Chelsea, you can only think one thing: to win trophies.
"Every competition, you have to think, "I play for Chelsea and that is my ambition"".
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Newcastle can challenge Chelsea for honours these days
Chelsea has a rich history of winning trophies and bagged the UEFA Conference League title last season, but they're not as prolific as they used to be, and Newcastle could have provided the same opportunities as the sides are pretty eve,nly matched, albeit with Chelsea having 1000 players, but it is what it is.
If a player doesn't want to come to us, we shouldn't lose too much sleep over it when they go elsewhere.
It is inevitable that João Pedro will score against Newcastle next season, isn't it?