Analyzing Pedro’s strengths and weaknesses for Chelsea

Chelsea have dominated the news since the start of the month for all the wrong reasons.

Their poor start to the season has been well documented and Sunday’s loss to Manchester City has shown that the Blues are not ready to defend the title and they need to freshen up the squad with reinforcements.

In the aftermath of that embarrassing loss, owner Roman Abramovich has reportedly sanctioned the signing of at least three new players before deadline day. And after a summer of inactivity, a flurry of transfer activity has begun at Stamford Bridge.

Baba Rahman’s £17.5M move from Augsburg was confirmed soon after the final whistle on Sunday and now Chelsea have seemingly performed the greatest steal of the summer.

Long-term Manchester United target Pedro Rodriguez, who was very close to a move to the Old Trafford club, was signed by Chelsea after United failed to agree a fee with Barcelona for the 28-year-old.

This opened the door for Chelsea to pounce and agreed a £22 million fee with Barca. The Blues jumped the queue and have subsequently announced the signing of the Barcelona midfielder.

Pedro has been on the fringes of the Barcelona team since the departure of Pep Guardiola with Neymar, Messi and Suarez preferred by Barca boss Luis Enrique as the front trio.

Nevertheless, he is still an excellent addition to the Chelsea team and will significantly improve the starting XI with immediate effect.

Strengths

Pedro has played at the highest level in soccer and has won all the big trophies, so there shouldn’t be a problem coping with the pressure at Chelsea.

He has earned a reputation over the years as someone who scores important goals and is not afraid of the big occasions.

His opening goal in Barca’s Champions League final win against Manchester United in 2011 is a testament to that fact and he recently secured the UEFA Super Cup trophy for Barcelona after scoring in extra time to break the tie with what proved to be his last goal for the Catalan club.

Aside from being a major goal threat, he has developed a knack for delivering dangerous crosses into the box from the right wing, and will be an extra goal-provider for Costa.

SEE MORE: Read Chelsea’s 2015/16 season preview.

His speed is another asset, which will please the Chelsea fans and he is well suited to the counter-attacking style often preferred by Mourinho away from home.

His most important attribute, however, is his lack of selfishness. Pedro is a team player who is disciplined and always puts the team’s needs above personal glory.

“You know what you’re going to get with Pedro, always 100 percent.” said former teammate Thierry Henry.

“The way he plays, the way he trains, he doesn’t talk, he doesn’t create any problem for you. He’s a team player who had exactly what you would love to have as a player or if you’re the boss.”

Weaknesses

For all of Pedro’s attacking instinct and pace, he will be coming into a side that plays a completely different style from the one he is used to at Barcelona.

The big question is if he will be able to adapt to the work ethic that Mourinho demands from his players, which was why some players such as Juan Mata, Kevin De Bruyne and Andre Schurrle were eventually sold.

Players such as Willian and Ramires have played a key part under Mourinho due to their athleticism and defensive discipline but Pedro cannot offer the same level of protection for Ivanovic who has been exploited by opposition wingers in recent times.

So there are question marks on this and the obvious solution would be to move Azpilicueta back to right back and hope Rahman can settle in quickly on the left to balance Chelsea’s back four.

This will give Pedro more leverage to concentrate on his attacking duties and will help him achieve his true potential.

Where will he fit in?

The midfielder, who has 99 goals in six seasons for Barcelona, can fit into the Chelsea lineup in a number of ways.

He is usually played on the right wing, which means he could replace Willian who, for all his energy, does not provide enough attacking instinct in the final third.

Pedro is two-footed so he can also play on the left comfortably but it’s unimaginable that Hazard would be dropped in his stead. The only time he will feature there is if Hazard is unfit or rested.

However, Pedro can also play as a striker and has done so for Spain on a couple of occasions. With Costa yet to find form and Falcao and Remy yet to convince, deploying Pedro as the top striker is not entirely out of the question.

The other option would be for Mourinho to revert to the 4-3-3 he used in his first spell at Chelsea with Hazard and Pedro as the wingers and the No 10 role dropped altogether.

This will provide Pedro the most seamless transition into the Chelsea team allowing him to adapt quickly into life in the Premier League with a formation he knows so well.