Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior says striker Joao Pedro belongs in the identical “class” as world‑class forwards Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe.
The 24‑12 months‑previous Brazil worldwide scored a hat‑trick in Wednesday’s 4-1 win at Aston Villa, taking his tally to 17 targets in all competitions this season.
None of his 14 Premier League targets this season have come from the penalty spot and solely Haaland, with 19, has scored extra non‑penalty targets in England’s high flight this season, whereas throughout Europe’s high 5 leagues Kane leads the best way on that foundation with 20 for Bayern Munich, and Mbappe has 15 for Actual Madrid.
Requested whether or not Joao Pedro is working at such a degree, Rosenior instructed reporters: “Joao is in that class now. Within the two months I have been right here, he has constantly proven he’s a world‑class striker.
“I speak about my gamers; it is disrespectful to Erling to match them. I do not know Erling very properly, however from the skin he appears to be like an impressive, world‑class striker.
“I would not swap Joao for anybody at this second – he’s exhibiting all of the qualities and attributes I need to see.
“The nice factor for Joao is his age – he can nonetheless enhance, and I’ve already seen a number of areas the place he can get higher. However the degree he is working at now could be world class, and it is my job, the membership’s job and his job to maintain him there.”
Chelsea, who face Wrexham within the FA Cup fifth spherical on Saturday, are in search of Joao Pedro to turn out to be their first out-and-out striker to achieve 20 targets in a season since Diego Costa in 2016-17.
They’ve had two gamers attain that tally within the intervening years, with deep-lying ahead Cole Palmer scoring 25 within the 2023-24 season, 5 years after Eden Hazard hit 21 as a winger.
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