Chelsea need a new striker this summer, but it is a delicate situation. Joao Pedro was Chelsea’s best player during 2025-26, and bringing in a forward to replace him doesn’t make much sense.
Pedro scored 23 goals for Chelsea in the 12 months following his move from Brighton, with his first goals coming at the Club World Cup. Somehow, Carlo Ancelotti has overlooked the in-form Chelsea striker.
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Barcelona haven’t, however. Deco’s aim to replace Robert Lewandowski with Pedro did not go to plan, with Chelsea making the striker ‘untouchable’. Going into next season, Pedro will be Chelsea’s first choice.
Chelsea need a striker to compete with Pedro. Not one that will come in and replace him, but one that will provide better competition than Marc Guiu and Liam Delap. Step forward, Francesco Pio Esposito.
Chelsea have been scouting Inter starlet Francesco Pio Esposito
Having scored 22 goals in 79 games during a two-year loan spell at Spezia, Esposito returned to Inter last summer and was integrated into the first team. He would go on to have a hand in 16 goals during 25-26.
The striker is seen as the future of Inter’s attack. The Serie A champions are an ageing side but Italy ace Esposito has the power to change that. TeamTalk, however, say that Esposito has admirers in England.
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Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal have all been watching Esposito closely over the last 12 months with a view to making a move, but it is Manchester United that are currently leading the way for Esposito.
For Chelsea, Esposito makes sense. This is a player with huge potential, but one that will be happy to provide back-up for Pedro in the meantime. He is a different striker to Pedro, which works in his favour.
Antonio Conte tried to sign Francesco Pio Esposito last summer
Fresh from winning the Scudetto, Napoli went big last summer with former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte at the helm. In came Rasmus Hojlund, Kevin De Bruyne and plenty of other big hitters ahead of 2025-26.
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Antonio Conte on Chelsea
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Things didn’t go to plan and Napoli went from Serie A champions to second and 11 points behind Inter. Indeed, Napoli’s second-placed finish is a whole lot better than they might have imagined in the winter.
Prior to the start of the 2025-26 season, reports in Italy said that Napoli were preparing an offer in the region of £25m for Esposito. Since, his value has grown after a decent first season in Inter’s senior side.
Of course, Conte has now left his post as Napoli manager and Esposito has remained at Inter Milan. It would be ironic to see Chelsea sign Esposito after their former manager tried and failed to get him.
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