Joao Pedro: A Rising Star in the Premier League

Xabi Alonso did not flinch. Asked if Joao Pedro belongs in the same bracket as Erling Haaland, the Chelsea head coach simply replied: “I would say yes.”

It was not a throwaway line. The Brazilian has opened the season with two goals and two assists in his first three league games and, on Friday, collected the Premier League’s Player of the Month award for the first time in his career. He did it by edging out his own team-mate, Cole Palmer, who took the prize back in September 2024.

For Alonso, that form only confirms what he already sees every day at Cobham.

‘Joao is there, Haaland is there’

If you count how many top strikers we have in the Premier League, I'm sure that Joao is there, Haaland for sure is there. So I would rate him that way,” Alonso said, placing his No 9 among the division’s elite without hesitation.

The numbers back up the boldness. Since arriving last summer, Joao Pedro has scored 25 goals and supplied 11 assists in 57 matches for Chelsea. In his debut campaign he became the club’s first striker since Diego Costa to hit 20 goals in a single season, finally easing the long-running curse of the number nine shirt at Stamford Bridge.

That shirt is now his. The 24-year-old signed a new deal last month that ties him to Chelsea until 2034, a statement of faith in a player the club see as the face of their attack for the next decade.

Across Manchester, Haaland remains the benchmark. In his last 57 games for City, the Norwegian has 42 goals and nine assists, numbers that underline his status as the league’s most ruthless finisher and last season’s Golden Boot winner with 27 league goals. Yet Alonso insists this is not a one-man conversation anymore.

The contrast, though, is clear. Haaland is a pure penalty-box predator. Joao Pedro is something else.

The Benzema comparison

Unlike Haaland, Joao Pedro has wandered all over the frontline in his young career. He has operated as a midfielder, a No 10, a winger and a traditional striker. That versatility, the way he links play and drifts into pockets, is what leads Alonso back to another name from his past: Karim Benzema.

“In many things he reminds me of Benzema, because he is good in the box, he is good out of the box, he is good coming to his left side, he is good with the head, he is very complete, he is intelligent,” said Alonso, who played 195 times alongside the Frenchman at Real Madrid.

“So yes, he is still young, still things to develop, but many, many absolutely outstanding qualities that he has.”

Benzema’s career numbers are the reference point. Now 38 and a free agent, the former Ballon d’Or winner has 523 goals in 994 appearances for France, Lyon, Real Madrid and Saudi clubs Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal. To even be mentioned in the same breath as him is a measure of the scale of Alonso’s praise.

Joao Pedro is nowhere near those totals yet, but the Chelsea manager is adamant the Brazilian’s profile belongs in that mould: a forward who can score, create, combine and think the game at a high level.

Brazil pain, Chelsea response

The story of his summer adds another layer. Joao Pedro was a shock omission from Brazil’s World Cup squad, left out by Carlo Ancelotti – the same coach who once directed Alonso in Madrid. For many players, that kind of blow lingers.

Asked if that snub had lit a fire under his striker, Alonso pushed back. “He had enough motivation. He already had enough within him, so I didn't need to go there. It was painful for him, but that is in the past. We are now focused on what he is doing well and what he can do better.”

Brazil have already moved to correct course. Joao Pedro has been recalled for September’s international fixtures against New Zealand and India, a rapid sign that his club form is impossible to ignore.

At Chelsea, Alonso sees more than just goals. “He has been outstanding. Not just in football terms, but in his personality, his maturity and his desire. He has a very clear goal this season, which is to have a great campaign and score a lot of goals.”

The comparison with Haaland will keep coming. The shadow of Benzema will follow too. Joao Pedro’s answer, week after week, now has to come on the pitch – and his manager has already nailed his colours to the mast.