Chelsea have agreed a fee worth £60m to sign forward Joao Pedro from Brighton.
The 23-year-old is expected to sign a seven-year contract and could be available to play in the Fifa Club World Cup.
Joao Pedro is flying in from Brazil to conduct a medical in the United States and could make his debut in Friday’s quarter-final tie against Palmeiras (BST 02:00) in Philadelphia.
Newcastle were also believed to have been interested in the forward with Brighton known to have rejected two bids from two unnamed Premier League clubs before they agreed terms of £55m, plus £5m in add-ons, with Chelsea.
The move follows an agreement with Borussia Dortmund to sign their English winger Jamie Gittens for £55m on Saturday, just hours before Chelsea beat Benfica to reach the last eight of the Club World Cup.
However, the 20-year-old Gittens cannot be involved in the tournament for Enzo Maresca’s side, having already featured for the German club.
Joao Pedro, meanwhile, joins after delivering 30 goals and 10 assists in 70 matches over a two-year spell at Brighton following a then-club record £30m move from Watford in 2023.
Seagulls manager Fabian Hurzeler left him out of their final Premier League match of the season against Tottenham due to a “small issue” .
Too many attackers or embarrassment of riches?
Supporters of other clubs might well be thinking ‘not another Chelsea transfer’ or ‘not another striker’.
The Blues have again moved aggressively and decisively in the current transfer window to add two more forwards in Gittens and Joao Pedro, having also signed Liam Delap from Ipswich in a £30m deal.
It looks like Chelsea are stockpiling more talent having spent around £170m on young players this summer, including Portuguese midfielder Dario Essugo and French defender Mamadou Sarr.
However, the Blues believe there is space for all the attackers to thrive, especially in a season where they will return to the Champions League following this lucrative Club World Cup campaign.
Joao Pedro’s arrival is expected to spark an exit for Frenchman Christopher Nkunku as they are two similar types of versatile forward.
Meanwhile, Gittens will replace Jadon Sancho, who returned to Manchester United for a £5m penalty fee following his recent loan spell, with Mykhailo Mudryk still provisionally suspended after failing a drugs test.
Delap, 22, bolsters an attack that lacked a suitable option when Nicolas Jackson was unavailable, while England international Noni Madueke could also be moved on following the arrival of 18-year-old Brazilian Estevao Willian from Palmeiras.
Having done a lot of deals already, sources say Chelsea will now slow their activity on incomings and focus on the difficult task of player sales.
The one weakness with this approach is clubs interested in their fringe or wantaway players could try to force cheaper deals.
Joao Felix, Raheem Sterling, Armando Broja and Carney Chukwuemeka are not with the squad in America and set to be offloaded too.
However, it would be unfair to say Chelsea don’t have a plan and their embarrassment of riches in attack is something their supporters can be pleased about as they pursue success next season.-BBC
