Chelsea have agreed a deal worth £60 million to sign Brazilian forward Joao Pedro from Brighton & Hove Albion.
The 23-year-old is expected to sign a seven-year contract and could feature as early as Friday in the Club World Cup quarter-final against Palmeiras in Philadelphia (kick-off 02:00 BST), pending a medical.
Joao Pedro is flying in from Brazil to complete his medical in the United States. If cleared, he could make his debut for Enzo Maresca’s side later this week.
Newcastle had also shown interest in the forward, while Brighton reportedly turned down two bids from unnamed Premier League clubs before accepting Chelsea’s offer—structured as £55 million upfront with an additional £5 million in performance-based add-ons.
The deal comes shortly after Chelsea secured the signing of 20-year-old winger Jamie Gittens from Borussia Dortmund for £55 million.
However, Gittens will not be eligible to participate in the Club World Cup, having already played in the competition for Dortmund.
Joao Pedro arrives at Stamford Bridge after an impressive two-year stint at Brighton, where he scored 30 goals and provided 10 assists in 70 appearances following a then-club record £30 million transfer from Watford in 2023.
He was left out of Brighton’s final Premier League game of the season against Tottenham due to what manager Fabian Hurzeler described as a “small issue.”
