Chelsea Signs Joao Pedro to Long-Term Deal as No 9

Chelsea are closing in on a new long-term contract for Joao Pedro that would keep the Brazilian at Stamford Bridge well into the next decade, underlining his rapid rise to centrepiece of the club’s attack.

The London club plan to renew the striker’s deal through to 2034 before the Premier League season kicks off. Inside Stamford Bridge, there is confidence the agreement will be wrapped up in time. Those close to the 24-year-old go even further, insisting a full agreement is already in place on a contract running to 2032, with Chelsea holding an option to stretch it by another two years.

Either way, the message is clear: Joao Pedro is now a long-term pillar of the project.

From big fee to big return

Chelsea paid an initial £55m, plus £5m in add-ons, to prise him from Brighton last summer. It looked a bold move at the time. Internally, it now looks like a bargain.

He has been hailed as a major success by club figures after a breakout first campaign in blue. Joao Pedro became the first Chelsea striker since Diego Costa to hit 20 goals in a season without the aid of penalties, snapping a long and uncomfortable drought in the No 9 role.

His impact stretched beyond the domestic calendar. He scored three times during Chelsea’s Club World Cup-winning run last summer, delivering on the biggest stage of the club’s new era and offering the kind of cutting edge the team have sorely missed since Costa’s departure.

The form has not dipped in pre-season. Joao Pedro has hit eight goals in seven warm-up games, sharpening both his confidence and his finishing just as the new campaign looms.

New season, new status

That momentum puts him in pole position to lead the line when Chelsea open their Premier League season away at Fulham on Monday. He is expected to start as the focal point of the attack, with new arrivals Danny Welbeck and Emmanuel Emegha brought in to offer depth and competition behind him.

The hierarchy have underlined his elevated status in another, more symbolic way. Joao Pedro has been handed the club’s number nine shirt, a number that has weighed heavily on several of his predecessors. This time, Chelsea are backing a striker already delivering at volume to carry it.

The change leaves Liam Delap on the outside looking in. He has given up the shirt and is now available for transfer at around £50m, with Nottingham Forest and Leeds United both showing interest as they look to bolster their own forward lines.

Chelsea, though, have made their choice. The future of their attack is already in the building, wearing nine, and about to be locked into a deal that could run all the way to 2034.