Chelsea are on the brink of pulling off a stunning coup and signing Barcelona star Pedro from under the noses of Manchester United.
United have been chasing the Spain international, 28, all summer, with lengthy negotiations continuing even as Pedro played for Barcelona in the UEFA Super Cup and Spanish Super Cup.
But widespread reports on Wednesday indicate Chelsea are now poised to sign the forward in a £22 million deal.
Spanish daily Marca reports that Pedro is in London to finalise the move which comes as a huge shock given the expectancy that he would join up with Louis van Gaal’s side.
The Daily Mail say United ended their interest in the player at Van Gaal’s behest – although given United dispatched chief executive Ed Woodward to Barcelona to get the deal done on Monday it seems they have been gazumped by their Premier League rivals.
The Mail says Pedro was not even aware Woodward was in the city.
Van Gaal has consistently batted away questions about the club’s pursuit of Pedro but his arrival at Old Trafford was seen as a near formality.
United legend Paul Scholes even said the signing could help the club win the Champions League:
“I think they potentially could win it, if they can add someone with a bit of pace like Pedro up front.”
WHAT HAPPENED TO UNITED?
Negotiations had been dragging on for some time and there were some worrying noises at the end of last week when the Guardian reported that Pedro was stalling on the move due to fears over the management style of Van Gaal, who had exiled his good friend Victor Valdes from the first-team set up.
The failure to get a deal done in an adequate time frame, with Pedro returning to the Barca first XI following a case of mumps for Neymar and scoring the winning goal in the 5-4 UEFA Super Cup win over Sevilla, did not help matters.
DO CHELSEA NEED HIM?
Pedro is a super player who can play on either side of the attack and would really add some energy to a Chelsea squad which has looked so sluggish at the start of the season. Eden Hazard is secure on the left of the attack but might welcome some support, while Willian works hard but arguably doesn’t contribute enough goals. Pedro can definitely bring something to Chelsea, although it’s not good news for Juan Cuadrado.
OUR VIEW
As much as United might try to dress this up as them withdrawing their interest, it’s fairly clear that had they stopped haggling over a couple of million and just paid his release clause, Pedro would already be a United player. Having had a couple of transfer disasters before – Cesc Fabregas and Ander Herrera’s first abortive move spring to mind, as well as Sergio Ramos’ use of United to get a new deal this summer – this is a bit of a return to the dark days under Woodward, although he has got a number of good deals over the line over the past 12 months.
United needed an injection of pace and Pedro provided that, along with the experience that comes from winning five Liga titles and three Champions Leagues. To lose out on a player of Pedro’s quality when he seemed almost in their pocket is a big blow for United.
Eurosport – Tom Adams – 8/19/15, 11:27 AM
