Chelsea To Steal March On Arsenal With £22m Attacker Bid

With the summer transfer window finally open for business, managers are working hard trying to strengthen their squads ahead of next season so we’ll bring you all the news and gossip. Today, Chelsea are ready to make their move for Pedro…

Chelsea are ready to steal a march on Arsenal by tabling a £22m bid for Barcelona attacker Pedro Rodriguez this summer, according to to the Daily Mail.

Pedro has been on Barcelona’s books his entire professional career having joined the club as a teenager but has struggled to establish himself as a regular first team player in recent years with the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez all well ahead of him in the pecking order.

The Spanish international was restricted to making just seven league starts during the second half of last season and the lack of regular action had led to speculation the 27-year-old could be set for a move this summer.

It looked like Predro could be heading to the Premier League as the Mirror claimed earlier this month that Arsenal and Chelsea are among the clubs who have been showing a keen interest in signing the attacker.

It then appeared Pedro had ended the uncertainty surrounding his future after penning a new long-term contract last month but the Express suggest that the deal was only agreed in order to lower his release clause from an unrealistic £107m to a far more affordable £22m.

This revelation appears to have alerted Jose Mourinho as the Daily Mail are citing reports coming from Spanish outlet Sport which claim that Chelsea are now set to steal a march on Arsenal by making a £22m move for the Barca forward.

The paper says that Pedro could be tempted by the move as he’s confident he’ll get more guaranteed minutes at Stamford Bridge than he’s likely to get if he remains at the Nou Camp, so a move to West London could be on the cards.

We’ll have to wait and see how much truth there is behind these reports but I think Pedro would be an excellent signing for Chelsea and further strengthen what is already an impressive array of attacking talent on offer to Mourinho.

If Chelsea are to wrap-up a deal for the Spaniard I think we could see Juan Cuadrado make a move away from Stamford Bridge as the Colombian international has failed to make an impression following his move back in January.

READ MORE –> Arsenal transfer news | Chelsea transfer news

However, I wouldn’t discount Arsenal from the running just yet as the Gunners have long been linked with Pedro and he would certainly help turn Arsene Wenger’s men into genuine title contenders next season, so I could see them going head-to-head with Chelsea if Barca agree to do business.

Let’s see how things develop over the coming weeks but I’d love to see Pedro come to England and think he’d be a huge success in the Premier League if either Chelsea or Arsenal were able to lure him away from the Nou Camp.