Chelsea Nears Long-Term Deal for Joao Pedro as No 9
Chelsea are closing in on a new long-term contract for Joao Pedro that would anchor the Brazilian at Stamford Bridge for the next decade and confirm his status as the club’s leading centre-forward.
Club sources expect the deal to be wrapped up before the Premier League season kicks off, with internal briefings pointing to a contract running until 2034. Those close to the 24-year-old, though, say the paperwork is already agreed to 2032, with Chelsea holding an option to extend for a further two years.
Whichever version you read, the message is the same: Joao Pedro is now central to Chelsea’s plans.
Signed from Brighton last summer for an initial £55m, plus £5m in add-ons, the Brazil international has quickly been framed inside the club as a major success story. He has done it the hard way too, not by padding his numbers from the spot, but by carrying the attack in open play.
Last season he became the first Chelsea striker since Diego Costa to hit 20 goals in a single campaign without taking penalties. That statistic has resonated in the corridors at Cobham. It is the kind of benchmark that changes how a forward is viewed in a club still searching for a long-term heir to Costa’s ruthless edge.
His impact has stretched beyond domestic competition. Joao Pedro scored three times in Chelsea’s Club World Cup-winning campaign last summer, delivering on a global stage just months after his arrival. This pre-season, he has simply kept going: eight goals in seven matches, form that has effectively picked itself into the starting XI.
Barring late drama, he is expected to lead the line when Chelsea open their Premier League season away to Fulham on Monday. New arrivals Danny Welbeck and Emmanuel Emegha are lined up as cover options, reinforcing the depth behind him rather than threatening his place.
The club have underlined that hierarchy with a symbolic decision. Joao Pedro has been handed the number nine shirt, the most scrutinised number in modern Chelsea history, with Liam Delap stepping aside. For years, that jersey has felt like a burden. Joao Pedro’s rise has turned it into a reward.
For Delap, the shift could mark the end of his time at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea are prepared to sell the striker for around £50m, and he is already drawing interest from Nottingham Forest and Leeds United. As one forward prepares to move on, another is being locked in.
Chelsea have spent heavily and churned relentlessly in search of a reliable goalscorer. Joao Pedro’s new deal suggests they believe they have finally found one – and they are ready to build the next era of their attack around him.
