
With
Sky sources saying Chelsea are on the verge of signing Pedro, we checked the
stats to see how he compares to Jose Mourinho's other wide players.
The Spanish winger, who had also attracted interest from Manchester United
and Manchester City, is due to undergo a medical with the Blues after they
triggered his £21.2m buy-out clause.
Pedro will compete with Eden Hazard, Willian, Oscar, Juan Cuadrado and
Ramires for a starting spot on the flanks at Chelsea, but what do the stats
tell us about what he has to offer?
The arrival of Luis Suarez from Liverpool last season ultimately paved the
way for Pedro's departure from Barcelona. The Uruguayan formed a 'holy
trinity' with Neymar and Lionel Messi at the Camp Nou, forcing Pedro to
settle for a supporting role in their treble-winning campaign.
It was tough to take for the 28-year-old, who had been a key player for
Barcelona ever since establishing himself during the 2009/10 season under
Pep Guardiola. He admitted it was a "difficult time" in an interview in
March, and it soon became clear that his future lay away from Catalonia.
Despite his reduced role at Barcelona, however, the stats point to an
important contribution last season. In 15 starts and 20 substitute
appearances in La Liga, Pedro registered six goals and six assists. Hazard
(14 goals, nine assists) and Oscar (six goals, eight assists) posted higher
numbers, but the stats show Pedro was actually more productive during his
time on the pitch.
Pedro only played 1529 minutes in total, meaning he averaged a goal or
assist every 127.4 minutes – a superior rate to Oscar (145.3 minutes),
Player of the Year Hazard (146.6 minutes), occasional winger Ramires (183.7
minutes) and Willian (483 minutes).
Hazard's brilliance on the left flank last season suggests he won't to be
moved to accommodate Pedro, so the Spaniard is likely to compete more
closely with Willian and Oscar on the right-hand side. The Brazilian duo
have had had little trouble holding off competition from the misfiring Juan
Cuadrado since his arrival in January, but Pedro poses a greater threat.
Playing alongside the likes of Messi, Suarez and Neymar has allowed Pedro to
maximise his productivity at Barcelona, but it would be unfair to put his
success down to his team-mates. In fact, Pedro is a player who gets the best
out of those around him. "The perfect team-mate, the perfect professional -
he is that guy," says Sky Sports pundit Thierry Henry, who played with him
at Barcelona.
Pedro's shot conversion rate also shows that he is a lethal finisher in his
own right. He has scored 58 goals in 204 La Liga games and converted 24.1
per cent of his shots on goal for Barcelona. To put that in context, the
average for a striker is 16 per cent, according to Opta, and even Hazard
(23.9 per cent) falls short of Pedro's average.
He is not known for his dribbling skills (he averaged fewer per game than
Hazard, Oscar and Willian last season) but his pace and movement are
valuable attributes with which he stretches defences and creates spaces for
team-mates to attack. His Barcelona schooling comes across in his accurate,
intelligent distribution – he posted an 86.9 per cent pass completion rate
last season – and he also has a useful habit of scoring in big games.
"If Pedro was Brazilian, he'd be called Pedrinho and we wouldn't have enough
money to afford him," Guardiola once said. Indeed, while more celebrated
players tend to hog the limelight at Barcelona, it is a measure of his
enduring importance to the side that no player has been involved in more
goals with Messi over the last five years. Pedro also boasts a remarkable
record of having scored in and won six different competitions in a calendar
year in 2009.
What's more, there is a toughness and intensity to his game which suggests
he would be well-suited to the Premier League and the industry Mourinho
demands from his wide players. Henry agrees. "He can adapt to the English
system," he told Sky Sports. "He won't have to learn, he will understand
staying wide, putting pressure and all that type of thing from the front and
the first time I saw him he was already on point."
Pedro has won just about every major trophy going. He has scored goals in
cup finals and Clasicos, and it is only the presence of three of the best
four players in the world that has brought an end to his time at Barcelona.
It's easy to see why Mourinho wants him, and the stats make encouraging
reading for Chelsea supporters. It remains to be seen how the Blues will
line up with Pedro in the team, but the numbers suggests he has more to
offer than the current options at Stamford Bridge.