Newcastle United are set to come up against Joao Pedro for the first time since he rejected them in favour of Chelsea.
Pedro has previously been a long-term transfer target at Newcastle United, who tried to sign him during his time at both Watford and Brighton.
Newcastle made a huge bid to sign Pedro from Brighton in June but the Brazilian forward eventually joined the Blues instead.
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Nick Woltemade replaces Yoane Wissa during Newcastle United vs Fulham.
Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images
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Clearly, there’s a lot more to his game than just goals but it is worth noting that Pedro has scored fewer times than the man Newcastle eventually signed in Nick Woltemade.
The Blues forward has bagged four Premier League goals in 16 appearances thus far, while Woltemade’s tally stands at five in 15.
Still, there’s little doubt that Pedro is a very talented player and, naturally given the context of Saturday’s game, Eddie Howe was asked about him.
Eddie Howe praises Joao Pedro before Newcastle United vs Chelsea
Newcastle are playing Chelsea on Saturday and Pedro looks set to start for the Blues, particularly given fellow former Toon target Liam Delap is injured.
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Pedro may have scored fewer times than Woltemade but he did shine in Chelsea’s Club World Cup victory, which seemingly left Howe impressed.
When asked about the former Brighton forward during Friday’s pre-match press conference, Howe said: “I think Joao’s a very, very good player.
Joao Pedro celebrates scoring for Chelsea against Fulham in the Premier League.
Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images
“Technically, he’s excellent. He can come in and link play, he’s got a physical presence, he can lead the line, he’s got that stature in his game.
“And, he’s a scorer of good goals. I haven’t watched him independently, I’ve watched Chelsea, I’ve watched a lot of their games as always in preparation for this game.
“He’ll be one of the very good attacking players we’ll have to control.”
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What Joao Pedro is currently doing better than Nick Woltemade despite scoring fewer goals
When comparing the two players, it’s important to note that this is Woltemade’s first season in the Premier League and that he’s playing in a team that is hardly functioning.
Pointing out where Pedro performs better than him is not a criticism, just a reflection on where Newcastle’s attack is compared to Chelsea’s.
Woltemade does have more goals (5 to 4), but Pedro boasts more assists (3 to 1) and more key passes per game (0.7 to 1.2).
2025/26 Premier League statistics Nick Woltemade Joao Pedro
Games 13 16
Goals 5 4
Assists 1 3
Shots/90 1.8 1.5
Key passes/90 0.7 1.2
Nick Woltemade’s stats compared to Joao Pedro, data via WhoScored
Considering so much has been made about Woltemade’s ability to link play, perhaps that’s something to work on.
Again, the difficult nature of Newcastle’s season hasn’t made it easy for him, so that nuance must be applied.
Hopefully, it is Woltemade who decides Saturday’s game and not Pedro.
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