Joao Pedro: The Next Benzema in Chelsea's Attack
Xabi Alonso did not flinch. Asked if Joao Pedro belongs in the same conversation as Erling Haaland, the Chelsea manager simply said: yes.
For a 24-year-old who has only just collected his first Premier League Player of the Month award, it is a staggering endorsement. But Alonso went even further, reaching back to his Real Madrid days to frame the Brazilian’s ceiling.
‘Many, many outstanding qualities’
Joao Pedro has opened the season at full throttle: two goals, two assists in his first three league games, enough to land August’s Player of the Month prize ahead of team-mate Cole Palmer, who took the award in September 2024. The numbers are strong. Alonso’s words were stronger.
“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.
This is not a throwaway comparison. Haaland, Manchester City’s ruthless spearhead, claimed last season’s Golden Boot with 27 league goals and has 42 goals and nine assists in his last 57 City appearances. Joao Pedro’s own Chelsea record now stands at 25 goals and 11 assists from 57 matches since joining last summer, becoming the club’s first striker since Diego Costa to hit 20 in a single season during his debut campaign.
Different profiles. Similar end product.
Haaland lives between the posts, a specialist finisher. Joao Pedro roams. He has been a midfielder, a No 10, a winger. He drops into pockets, drifts wide, links play, then appears in the box at the decisive moment. That variety is exactly what Alonso believes lifts him into Benzema territory.
“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 the Spaniard, who played 195 times alongside the former Ballon d’Or winner at Real Madrid. “So yes, he is still young, still things to develop, but many, many absolutely outstanding qualities that he has.”
Coming from someone who shared a dressing room with Benzema at his peak, it lands with weight. The Frenchman, now 38 and a free agent, has 523 goals in 994 appearances across France, Spain and Saudi Arabia with Lyon, Real Madrid, Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal. That is the level Alonso is invoking.
Chelsea’s new No 9, tied down for a decade
Chelsea have moved quickly to secure the player they now view as the centrepiece of their attack. Joao Pedro signed a new contract at Stamford Bridge last month, extending his stay until 2034, and took on the club’s iconic number nine shirt at the start of the season.
The curse of the Chelsea No 9 has swallowed up bigger names than his. He is ignoring the superstition and rewriting the story. Twenty goals in his first campaign, Player of the Month already in his second, and a manager publicly placing him alongside Haaland and Benzema. This is not a quiet rise.
The raw data backs the eye test. In those 57 Chelsea games, his 25 goals and 11 assists underline his dual role as scorer and creator. He is not just finishing moves; he is often starting them, then arriving to end them.
From World Cup pain to international recall
All this has unfolded against the backdrop of a bruising international snub. Joao Pedro was a surprise omission from Brazil’s squad for this summer’s World Cup, left out by Carlo Ancelotti – the same coach who once directed Alonso at Real Madrid.
That decision stung.
“It was painful for him, but that is in the past,” Alonso admitted. He insisted the forward did not need extra fuel. “He had enough motivation. He already had enough within him, so I didn't need to go there. We are now focused on what he is doing well and what he can do better.”
Brazil have already felt the need to reassess. Joao Pedro has been recalled for September’s fixtures against New Zealand and India, a rapid correction that mirrors his surge in form at club level.
Alonso has seen 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 target is simple. The path, less so. To be mentioned with Haaland is one thing; to echo Benzema’s completeness is another. Joao Pedro now carries both comparisons on his back, along with the Chelsea No 9 shirt and a contract that stretches a decade into the future.
If this is how he starts the season, what does the finish look like?
