João Pedro is in the form of his life under Liam Rosenior. We look at how the new Chelsea coach has helped the Brazilian become one of Europe’s leading strikers this year.
As Chelsea enter the most important phase of their season, the form of forward João Pedro is giving them hope that 2025-26 could be one to remember.
Ahead of the Blues’ FA Cup tie with Wrexham last weekend, Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior lauded the Brazilian as “a world-class striker”.
He then came off the bench with the scores locked at 2-2 in their encounter with the Championship club on Saturday, the game heading into extra-time. Not only did he score the goal to seal Chelsea’s advancement to the quarter-finals in a 4-2 victory, but he also caused Wrexham numerous problems with his pace, skill and intelligent movement.
That goal was his 11th in 13 appearances in all competitions under Chelsea’s new boss, making João Pedro the top-scoring Premier League player in the two-month period since Rosenior took over from Enzo Maresca. None of those goals have been from the penalty spot, either – and that has been a stick used to beat João Pedro’s goal return with in the past.
Amazingly, his non-penalty goal return is already his best total under a single manager across his senior career, surpassing his 10 scored under Maresca and Roberto De Zerbi at Brighton.
Despite still being just 24 years old, it’s already been a long journey for João Pedro to get to where he is now: from a player who first burst onto the scene at Fluminense as a 17-year-old in 2019 to an established Premier League talent in 2026.
Loyalty Led to Development
After seeing success with the signing of Richarlison from Fluminense in August 2017, Watford went back to the Brazilian club to raid them for another of their promising young forwards just 12 months later.
João Pedro hadn’t yet played a first-team game for Fluminense at the time the transfer was agreed for the then-17-year-old, but he soon began making a name for himself with an exceptional run of form prior to his official move to England in January 2020 – over a year after the transfer was agreed.
Although still only a teenager, João Pedro scored 10 goals in his only senior campaign at Fluminense, including a memorable hat-trick in a Copa Sudamericana win over Atlético Nacional on what was his first start for the club.
Vale a pena ver de novo! Os três gols de João Pedro na vitória do @FluminenseFC por 4-1 sobre o @nacionaloficial. Noite iluminada do garoto na #SulAmericana pic.twitter.com/CpoYohD3wa
— CONMEBOL Sudamericana (@SudamericanaBR) May 24, 2019The timing of his move to Watford turned out to be unfortunate. Just months after arriving in England, the COVID-19 pandemic sent everyone into lockdown and football was paused. When it returned, games were played behind closed doors and João Pedro – already in a difficult position, in a country where he couldn’t speak the language well – was even more isolated in a new environment at a very young age.
It was hardly unexpected for such a young player, but he was restricted to just 22 minutes of Premier League football in the second half of the 2019-20 campaign after joining the Hornets, who were ultimately relegated to the Championship. After four successive top-flight campaigns and an FA Cup final appearance only a year earlier, relegation was a bitter blow for Watford, but it proved a blessing in disguise for João Pedro.
Dropping down to the Championship gave him the opportunity for valuable playing time to assist his development. He played two-thirds of the available minutes in the league for Watford during 2020-21 (65%) despite still being a teenager, as the club won promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
A return to the Premier League gave him a good taste of top-flight football, although it would only last one season before they were once again relegated back to the Championship.
Many believed João Pedro would move, and opportunities certainly arose for the Brazilian, but he stayed loyal to the Hornets, who hoped for another quick return to the Premier League. After all, playing in the Championship once again gave him regular playing time rather than sitting on a Premier League team’s bench, promoting further development and helping him become more rounded as a player.
It looked like he would join Newcastle United in January 2023, but instead he signed a new long-term contract with Watford. Supporters had no expectation that this would keep him at the club beyond 2022-23, but it at least enabled them to get more value out of their prized asset.
In his final season at Watford, an injury crisis meant he played in numerous positions and even as captain at 22 years old on occasion, with the Brazilian leading by example. Predominantly deployed in the number 10 role, João Pedro’s direct running style from deeper-lying positions highlighted his exceptional ability to take players on, beating opponents with take-ons more often than anyone else in the 2022-23 Championship (116) season.
When it became obvious Watford wouldn’t be returning to the Premier League, João Pedro’s departure was inevitable and his £30 million move to Brighton & Hove Albion was announced.
Proving Himself in the Premier League
Brighton had a history of buying and developing young talent before pushing them on to bigger and better things. It felt like the ideal destination for João Pedro.
They were buying a player who showed obvious potential but still hadn’t proven himself in the top flight. Two years at the south-coast club gave him the platform to do just that.
Across 2023-24 and 2024-25, only 15 players scored more goals in all competitions for Premier League clubs than João Pedro did for Brighton (30). Of those 15, only one – Cole Palmer – was younger than João Pedro.
His versatility proved helpful to both De Zerbi and Fabian Hürzeler at Brighton, playing across numerous positions in attack but still being a regular goal threat.
His 30 goals and 40 goal involvements were more than any other player at the club across his two seasons there, while only Kaoru Mitoma (78) created more chances than he did in open play (75).
Incidents later on in 2024-25 raised questions about João Pedro’s maturity and ability to keep discipline, however.
A red card and subsequent three-match ban for violent conduct following a petulant off-the-ball altercation with Brentford’s Nathan Collins was followed by a training ground bust-up with teammate Jan Paul van Hecke that led to him being left out of the side at the end of the season.
There have been flashes of indiscipline during his short Chelsea career, too, but arguably more unfortunate. His red card in the Champions League against Benfica came from two yellow cards in just 29 minutes on the pitch as a substitute, while he needlessly got involved in a dispute with both Adama Traoré and Jean-Clair Todibo at the end of their dramatic win over West Ham in January.
Aggression and a lack of fear play a role in what makes João Pedro such an exciting player to watch, though. Rosenior, so far at least, has done a great job of channelling that into making him the most in-form forward in the Premier League since his arrival as manager.
Pushing Further Forward
“I wouldn’t swap João for anyone in this moment to be honest, because he’s showing all of the things and all the attributes I want to see in my number nine.”
A glowing reference from Rosenior last week reflected what most Chelsea fans would be saying about the Brazilian following his performances at the club.
Rosenior definitely deserves some credit for unlocking Pedro’s potential as a number nine, too.
While the English manager has mostly played the same formation (4-2-3-1) at Chelsea as Maresca did earlier in the season, João Pedro has seen a higher proportion of his minutes on pitch in the number nine position (88%) than under the Italian (68%).
That positional shift has enabled João Pedro to get more of the ball in attacking areas, with 1.8 touches per 90 more in the final third of the pitch than he averaged under Maresca in all competitions.
This has also changed the type of runs João Pedro is making as a passing option for his teammates.
Looking at Opta Vision data for the Premier League this season, he’s come short – a run directly towards the ball with the aim of becoming more available for a simple pass – just twice in eight appearances under Rosenior, at a rate of 0.3 per 90, under half his average in 1,454 mins under Maresca (0.7 per 90, 11 runs overall).
Positioned further forward and being asked to play on the last defender more regularly under Rosenior also means he’s running into more dangerous areas of the pitch.
Looking at runs in behind, defined as those made with an intention to get behind the opposition’s defensive line, his average is up to 9.1 per 90 with Rosenior in charge, compared to 7.8 per 90 under Maresca.
He’s also become a more regular crossing option for his teammates since Rosenior took over, with his average cross-option runs – a run into the penalty area to become available for a cross when your teammate has possession out wide – increasing from 3.7 per 90 to 4.2 per 90.
Those runs have played a part in João Pedro becoming a player who’s now expected to be on the end of Chelsea’s passing moves rather than as the link between midfield and attack.
While his overall involvement in the Blues’ open-play shot-ending sequences has seen little change between the two managers, there has been a big shift in how often João Pedro’s only involvement in a passing move is as the shot-taker.
Of Chelsea’s open-play attacking sequences in all competitions under Rosenior, more often than not, João Pedro’s only involvement in them has been as the player to take the shot. His per-90 average of 2.9 is up from 1.6 with Maresca as manager. Similarly, of the open-play shot-ending sequences in which he is involved, the proportion of those in which his only involvement was the shot has increased to 68.2% under Rosenior from 40.4% under Maresca.
While he is finding better shooting positions under Rosenior (0.23 xG per shot) than he did under Maresca (0.21), undoubtedly helped by a move further forward, it’s the shot frequency under his new coach that’s really helped him increase his goal tally.
He is averaging 3.2 non-penalty shots per 90 in all competitions at Chelsea since Rosenior became manager, up from 2.0 under Maresca, while his non-penalty xG per 90 has risen from 0.42 to 0.74 in the last two months.
The Next Superstar?
It’s becoming increasingly clear that the ceiling is high for João Pedro. His exceptional form is not only a blessing for Chelsea, but also for Brazil.
Lacking good options for number nines at the 2026 World Cup other than Richarlison, João Pedro – who has only won six caps for Brazil – could prove to be their main goalscoring option this summer.
Since his Chelsea debut at the FIFA Club World Cup on 5 July 2025, no Brazilian has scored more goals for a club from the top five European leagues than João Pedro (21). Brentford’s Igor Thiago has the same tally of goals, but as he’s yet to be called up to a Brazilian national team, his inclusion in their World Cup squad feels unlikely.
For now, focus will be on helping Chelsea secure UEFA Champions League qualification with a top-four (or potentially top-five) Premier League finish and helping them progress past reigning UCL champions Paris Saint-Germain over two legs in the round of 16. A fantastic performance, capped off by a fine finish in the 3-0 win over PSG in the Club World Cup final last July will give him and Chelsea confidence of doing just that.
With 14 league goals to his name already, and nine games remaining in 2025-26, there’s every chance João Pedro will become just the fourth striker to reach 20 goals in a Premier League season for Chelsea after Didier Drogba (twice), Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (twice) and Diego Costa (twice), and the first since Costa in 2016-17.
Based on his form under Rosenior, few would bet against him doing just that.
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