Michael Owen has stated that Manchester United should have signed Joao Pedro before the Brazilian forward joined Chelsea in a £60 million move from Brighton. Owen, speaking on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast, expressed his admiration for Pedro, calling him 'unbelievable' and suggesting United missed a trick by not pursuing him earlier.
Owen's admiration for Joao Pedro
'I'm a huge Joao Pedro fan, I think he's unbelievable. In fact, Manchester United should have bought him about four years ago when he was at Watford,' Owen explained. The former England, United, and Liverpool striker added, 'United had nobody up front for years and I thought, "That Joao Pedro", I love him.'
Pedro, 24, joined Chelsea 12 months ago and quickly established himself as the Blues' first-choice centre-forward, ahead of fellow summer signing Liam Delap. He finished his debut season with 20 goals in all competitions, despite Chelsea's overall struggles that saw them finish tenth in the Premier League.
Chelsea's season under Xabi Alonso
With no European football to contend with this season, new manager Xabi Alonso can focus purely on domestic competition. Owen believes this could be hugely beneficial, backing Chelsea to finish second behind reigning champions Arsenal. 'Chelsea. This could be way off the mark but they've got no Europe at all and you see how important that has been over the years. It was brilliant for Manchester United last year,' Owen said.
'This manager [Xabi Alonso] did something similar with an unfancied team in Germany [Bayer Leverkusen], he's going to change a lot, they've bought well,' he added. Owen also highlighted the potential of Chelsea's attack, mentioning Pedro alongside Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer as a formidable front three.
Question marks and potential
While acknowledging 'question marks' surrounding goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, Owen feels Chelsea could 'catch fire' and have a 'big season' in Alonso's first year in charge. 'There's a big question mark over the goalkeeper, I hear that. But I just think that could catch fire that team. They've got no European football to concentrate on and there's some good players there. I think Chelsea could have a big season,' he said.
Reports from Brazil earlier this month claimed Arsenal had made a surprise approach for Pedro, offering €100 million (£86 million), but Chelsea quickly rejected the move. Pedro, considered one of Chelsea's 'untouchables', has also attracted interest from Barcelona in the past. He has seven years remaining on his current contract at Stamford Bridge.
