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Joao Pedro on life at Chelsea so far, 2025/26 season ambitions and moving house
Football | August 15, 2025 12:39 AM CST

Joao Pedro believes Chelsea can "achieve a lot of things" in the 2025/26 season with the Premier League campaign kicking off this weekend.

The 23-year-old joined the Blues from Brighton in a deal worth £60million this summer and made an immediate impact at the Club World Cup. After making his debut as a substitute against Palmeiras in the quarter-final, Pedro started against Fluminense and scored two before netting another in the 3-0 final win over PSG.

Pedro now has his eyes on this season with Chelsea kickstarting the campaign at home to Crystal Palace on Sunday. The striker returned to Cobham more or less straight away after the tournament in America as he already had a handful of weeks off before signing for Chelsea. His teammates, however, only returned to Cobham last Monday and the Brazilian believes everyone is fresh and ready.

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"The other players deserved their break, they had a long season," Pedro told Chelsea's official website. "But I think everyone is fresh now and ready for the next season."

He added: "I was training at Cobham before because I came straight back after the final. I already had my holiday before so I came straight to find a house to move from Brighton to Cobham. So I’ve been there before the others.

"I spent four days in Spain to enjoy a little bit after the final, but I had already had my break earlier. I was back in Brazil for five weeks before joining Chelsea. That was good so that’s why I came straight back to the training ground.

"I have found somewhere to live now near Cobham. It felt weird in the first days I was back here because everything is new, but now I feel comfortable at Cobham. The good thing was Jamie [Gittens, another summer signing] was there so we spent a lot of time training together. It was very good to train with him from the beginning.’"

Pedro is likely to start against Palace on Sunday although Liam Delap is ready and waiting for Enzo Maresca. Pedro credits his new teammates for how he has started life in west London.

"It has been a very good experience right from the start," Pedro said. "I’m very comfortable, I think because I’ve been in England for five years already playing against them, so I know the players.

"Of course it’s always a difficult moment for a new player to join in the middle of the tournament, but they were very welcoming with me. Reece [James] spoke with me, and Tosin [Adarabioyo], Enzo [Fernandez] text me the first day I joined.

"So they helped me a lot, they tried to make me feel less pressure. I think that’s why I had a good experience in America. Everyone said I looked like I’ve been here for a long time already. The beginning was very good, but I need to keep working hard to improve always. I need to work hard, help the team, help the club to achieve our objectives.

"I need to look forward, to this season. I’m very excited because I can see we have a strong group and I think we can achieve a lot of things by the end of the season."


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