Football
Chelsea agree deal worth up to £60m to sign Joao Pedro from Brighton; forward set to sign seven-year deal with Blues; Brazilian will fly to USA to have medical and join Chelsea at the Club World Cup; Pedro could make Chelsea debut in quarter-final against Palmeiras on Saturday
Sky Sports News Chief Reporter
Monday 30 June 2025 10:51, UK
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Chelsea have agreed a deal worth up to £60m for Brighton forward Joao Pedro.
The 23-year-old has agreed terms with Chelsea on a seven-year deal and will fly from Brazil to the USA to have a medical and join Enzo Maresca’s side at the Club World Cup.
Pedro will be able to play for Chelsea at the tournament, as clubs are allowed to register players between June 27 and July 3.
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It means the Brazil international could make his Chelsea debut in the Club World Cup quarter-finals with Pedro potentially available to face Palmeiras on Friday in Philadelphia, with kick-off at 2am UK time in the early hours of Saturday.
The move for Pedro comes with Chelsea having good relations with Brighton, who have a sell-on clause in the deal.
The Blues view Pedro as a versatile forward who can play as a No. 9 and across the front line.
Newcastle had also been interested in Pedro and had a bid of around £50m rejected last week. It is understood Pedro only wanted to play for Chelsea.
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Watford, who sold Pedro to Brighton for £35m in 2023, will be due 20 per cent of the profit from this deal.
Chelsea are also on the verge of signing Jamie Gittens from Dortmund. Gittens will sign a seven-year contract at Chelsea after completing his medical. The fee to sign the 20-year-old is set to be €65m (£55.5m).
Gittens will not be allowed to play for Chelsea at the Club World Cup after already appearing in Borussia Dortmund’s first group game against Fluminense.
Sky Sports News’ James Savundra and Elliot Cook:
Brighton had no intention of selling Pedro in this window but were aware of mounting Premier League interest.
The 23-year-old’s ambition to play at the top level of European football has been no secret, and he’s also keen to put himself firmly in the picture for next summer’s World Cup.
Brighton will continue to sell players when they consider it the right time for both themselves and the player – as long as the value is matched. They will not stand in a player’s way if their value is met.
After Pedro was sent off against Brentford and was involved in a training group altercation with Jan Paul van Hecke, it seemed an exit this summer could happen.
While he is not regarded as a troublemaker, the incidents did not go down well internally. Pedro moved to Brighton from Watford in May 2023 and has 40 goal contributions in all competitions across 70 games.
He was the top scorer in the Europa League group stage during the 2023/24 season, including a late winner against Marseille to help the club qualify for the group stages.
The fee from Chelsea represents a significant profit on a player who helped the club to achieve a top 10 finish last season and who was also their top scorer in their first campaign in Europe.
The club will bide their time when it comes to assessing their forward options. Their existing options already include record signing Georgino Rutter, Danny Welbeck, Evan Ferguson and new signing Charalampos Kostoulas – whom the club have extremely high hopes for.
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And 80 per cent of all televised Premier League games next season are on Sky Sports.
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