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Premier League record goalscorer and England legend Alan Shearer (Picture: Getty)
Alan Shearer has questioned if £60m Chelsea signing Joao Pedro can take the Blues to ‘the next level.
Chelsea beat a number of clubs, including Newcastle United, to a deal for ex-Brighton forward Pedro last summer.
The Brazil international has enjoyed a largely promising first season at Stamford Bridge, scoring 14 goals in all competitions.
Premier League record goalscorer and England legend Shearer believes Pedro is ‘really talented’ but has questioned whether he can help Chelsea win major trophies.
Chelsea face a real battle to qualify for next season’s Champions League with Saturday’s draw with Burnley giving top-four rivals Manchester United and Liverpool major hope.
Liam Rosenior’s side are already through to the knockout stages of this season’s Champions League but are not considered one of the favourites to lift the trophy.
‘I think Joao Pedro is a really, really talented player,’ Shearer said on The Rest is Football podcast.
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Chelsea’s £60m signing Joao Pedro (Picture: Getty)
‘Whether he’s enough to take Chelsea to the next level and to where they want to be in terms of titles and the champions League is a different conversation.
‘But in terms of his ability, he’s excellent.’
Gary Lineker is also an admirer of Pedro and likened Chelsea’s No. 9 to Arsenal forward and former Stamford Bridge star Kai Havertz.
‘Another goal for Joao Pedro at the weekend so let’s talk about signed strikers in the Premier League,’ Lineker said.
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Arsenal star and former Chelsea player Kai Havertz (Picture: Getty)
‘Isak, Ekitike, Pedro, Gyokeres and Sesko were the big ones weren’t they last summer. Ekitike has done really well and similar numbers but Pedro has perhaps gone slightly under the radar in terms of how well he’s done.
‘I think he’s a very good footballer, he’s technically very gifted. I think he’s a really good player, he does remind me a little bit of Kai Havertz.
‘They’re similar type of players, both very technically gifted and they both almost glide around the pitch. I think he’s a really good player.’
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Ex-Manchester City defender Micah Richards added: ‘I think Joao Pedri is a little bit different to the other ones you mentioned.
‘He’s more of a No. 10 or a false nine. When you look at his goal record it’s very good considering the positions he takes up on the pitch.
‘He goes very deep and links the play very well, he’s very clever and really good in the air actually. I think he’s done ever so well and we knew he was excellent from his time at Brighton.’
Pedro’s early goal looked to have earned Chelsea a narrow win over relegation-battlers Burnley on Saturday but the momentum in the game changed after Wesley Fofana’s second-half sending off.
Chelsea lost control at that point and Zian Flemming headed home an injury-time equaliser to earn Burnley a rare point and dent Chelsea’s European aspirations.
‘We should have won the game. We should have been more ruthless,’ Rosenior said afterwards.
‘There was a lack of penetration in the first half, second half we had more moments without the right final pass or finish and that’s really disappointing.’
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