When Brighton agreed to pay a club-record £30million to sign Watford forward João Pedro last summer, a few eyebrows were raised.
Pedro had arrived in England in January 2020, signing for Watford from Fluminense. The Hornets had hoped to repeat the Richarlison trick. He too moved from the Rio-based club to Watford prior to a big-money move to Everton after an impressive debut campaign at Vicarage Road.
By Sam McGuire, Premier League expert
However, the process was a lot slower with Pedro. For starters, he didn’t really become a starter with Watford until the 2020/21 campaign in the Championship. He netted nine times in the English second tier as the Hornets were promoted before a difficult 2021/22 season in the Premier League. Pedro scored just three times as Watford, once again, were relegated. Despite rumours he would be sold, he remained with the club in the Championship, scoring 11 times.
His stock was nowhere near as high as it once was when it was announced the Seagulls had agreed a deal to sign the versatile attacker. There’s no other way to dress this up; Brighton, famed for their smart signings, had gambled on Pedro.
It was a bit of a head-scratcher at the time too given the noise around Even Ferguson. The Republic of Ireland international was being touted as a £100million player and it seemed risky to bring in another attacker who could well limit his game time.
As it turns out, it was a clever decision.
The 19-year-old has been inconsistent and has some injury issues this season. Ferguson has just six goals in the Premier League this term and three of those arrived in a 3-1 win over Newcastle United. His last goal in the English top-flight arrived in November.
By comparison, Pedro is scoring for fun. The 22-year-old has eight goals in his last seven outings for the Seagulls, across all competitions, as well as one assist.
The one-cap Brazil international is Brighton’s leading scorer in the Premier League with eight and he’s also notched five times in FA Cup and six times in the Europa League. For added context, he’s level with the likes of Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka, Diogo Jota and Julián Álvarez for goals scored in the top tier of English football.
Granted, 10 of his 19 goals this season have come via the penalty spot. In fact, he actually holds the Brighton record for penalties scored in a single season! While some will look down on this return, we’ve seen big players miss penalties over the years. Having a reliable penalty taker is priceless.
As shown by his penalty shot map (above) he is consistent with his penalty attempts in the Premier League and favours two types. If he’s aiming to his right, he adds a bit of height to it. If he’s going to his left, he keeps them low.
His calmness and composure from the spot is a key reason as to why Brighton are currently eighth in the Premier League, just three points off of sixth-placed Manchester United. His spot-kick expertise is also one of the main reasons Brighton are into the knockout rounds of the Europa League and into the Fifth-Round of the FA Cup.
Pedro has turned out to be one of the signings of the season. Not just for Brighton but across the Premier League entirely.
Manager Roberto De Zerbi believes the Brighton No. 9 has the potential to improve. Speaking recently, the Italian tactician said:
“The last step to become a great, great player is to play 90 minutes in the same way. Sometimes in the game he starts the game not at his best and I would like the beginning of the game until the end of the game to be the same mentality.”
“João Pedro’s DNA is of a top player. We try to help him to progress, to be better. But not the coaches – the players and the dressing room of Brighton is great. You can learn watching what Pascal Gross does, Lewis Dunk, Danny Welbeck, Joel Veltman, Adam Webster, James Milner, Adam Lallana. If you are a good guy, if you have good behaviour, you will learn from these players.”
There’s talk that Pedro could leave the Amex this summer in a big-money move but another season on the South Coast could help him develop his all-round game and that is quite a scary prospect for rival clubs. For now, though, he’s proven to be yet another masterstroke signing by the Seagulls.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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