João Pedro has signed for Chelsea, and Jamie Gittens is reportedly not far behind. Do the Blues really need more forwards, though?
As anyone in England who sat in the garden for too long over the last few days will attest to, you can have too much of a good thing.
Football fans get excited about transfers, but you do wonder if Chelsea fans might eventually become somewhat numb to the dopamine hit that can come with seeing your team sign a shiny new player.
Including deals for Geovany Quenda and Denner Evangelista, who will arrive at Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2026, Chelsea have made 50 signings (including loans) since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital took over in 2022. That’s an average of more than seven new additions per transfer window, with almost two months of the current window remaining.
The £60 million signing of João Pedro saw Chelsea reach a half century of signings in just over three years after his move from Brighton & Hove Albion was confirmed on Wednesday, while Borussia Dortmund’s Jamie Gittens will supposedly not be far behind.
Something that people often find themselves asking when Chelsea sign players these days is “Do they actually need them?”
Well, we’ve looked at both João Pedro and Gittens, as well as the current Blues squad, to try and answer that very question.
With all those signings, it obviously stands to reason that Chelsea have sold plenty of players as well, and you would expect them to do the same this summer.
Below is the state of Chelsea’s first-team squad prior to João Pedro’s arrival, and while there are an awful lot of names on there, you would imagine a few will not be with the club by the close of the window. But it should also be noted that it also doesn’t include incoming South American youngsters, Kendry Páez and Estêvão.
However, when it comes to Gittens, you can see where his transfer makes sense when you look at the left wing. The only two options there at the moment are Raheem Sterling, who spent last season on an unsuccessful loan at Arsenal, and Mykhailo Mudryk, who was recently charged by the Football Association for violating anti-doping rules and could face up to a four-year ban.
Gittens played either left wing or left midfield for 96% of his 2,793 minutes in all competitions for Dortmund last season, so you would assume that is where Enzo Maresca intends to play him as well.
Jadon Sancho played 77% of his 2,424 minutes in all competitions on the left for Chelsea, but the club decided not to make his loan from Manchester United permanent.
Pedro Neto played 25% of his minutes at left wing last season, and Noni Madueke played 14%, though both are clearly more comfortable on the right, and the latter has been linked with a move away from Chelsea this summer, too.
Gittens scored 12 goals for BVB in 48 games in all competitions last season. He made the most appearances of any Dortmund player, while only Serhou Guirassy (34) scored more goals for the German club.
Interestingly, Gittens recorded the same rate of goal involvements per 90 minutes from his 48 games as former Dortmund man Sancho did from his 42 outings for Chelsea (0.48). With 12 goals and three assists to Sancho’s five goals and eight assists, Gittens is more of a goal threat but is also somewhat less creative. He created just 1.0 chances from open play per 90 compared to Sancho’s 2.0.
Gittens is a high-volume dribbler, with his 8.1 dribbles attempted per 90 and 3.9 dribbles completed per 90 the most of anyone in the Bundesliga last season (minimum 1,000 minutes played). In fact, across Europe’s top five leagues, only Manchester City’s Jérémy Doku (6.4) and Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal (5.1) averaged more completed dribbles per 90.
He therefore commits defenders, which could open space for the likes of Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson, and maybe even João Pedro.
The Brazilian arrives at Stamford Bridge with plenty of experience in English football, having joined Watford in January 2020 and spent two and a half seasons at Vicarage Road, before moving to Brighton in the summer of 2023.
He scored 30 goals in 70 games for the Seagulls in all competitions, and though half of them were penalties (15), several of those were won by the player himself.
It’s not surprising, as across the last two seasons in the Premier League (minimum 2,000 minutes played), only seven players averaged more fouls won per 90 (2.4) than João Pedro, while only 11 players averaged more touches in the opposition box than him (7.5).
While it’s unlikely he’ll be taking many penalties for Chelsea with Palmer around, the 23-year-old could still have plenty to offer.
As well as being a goal threat, he works hard off the ball. As we pointed out in this week’s Opta Analyst newsletter, João Pedro won possession in the opposition’s final third 23 times in the Premier League last season at a rate of 1.1 times per 90 minutes. Of players who played at least 1,000 minutes in England’s top flight in 2024-25, only six won possession in the opposition’s final third more often per 90, none of whom were Chelsea players.
He’s also versatile. As you can see from his position minutes map from his two seasons at Brighton, he largely played as a central striker, but also got a decent amount of time on the left or playing just behind the striker as a 10. He could therefore be considered an alternative to Gittens on the left, to Palmer as a 10, or to Liam Delap and Jackson as a striker.
The question, of course, is will those minutes be enough for a 23-year-old poised to take that next step in his career? Or could he be another short-lived attacking option for Chelsea?
In the owners’ first six transfer windows between the summer of 2022 and the summer of 2024, Chelsea signed Sterling, Madueke, Mudryk, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Jackson, Palmer, Christopher Nkunku, Sancho (on loan with an option to buy), João Félix and Neto. There is a chance that of those 10 big attacking signings, only three will be at the club next season (not including Mudryk for obvious reasons, though Chelsea cannot be blamed for that situation).
Across the last three seasons, of those 10 players, only Palmer (5,809) and Jackson (5,074) have played more than 4,000 minutes for Chelsea in the Premier League.
For context, 55 attacking players (forwards/wingers/10s) have played more than 4,000 minutes in the Premier League in the last three seasons, including former Chelsea youngster Callum Hudson-Odoi (4,054) for Nottingham Forest. Arsenal (5), Liverpool (4), Manchester City (4) and Newcastle United (4) all have at least twice as many attacking players to have recorded over 4,000 minutes than Chelsea, suggesting there are benefits to consistency and trust.
João Pedro has signed a long-term deal until 2033, but has plenty of competition in his positions. The path looks clearer for 20-year-old Gittens if he is indeed to be the first-choice left winger, but can Blues boss Maresca keep his many options happy?
Rotation seems the likeliest way to do that, though it may surprise some to learn that Chelsea only made the seventh most changes to their starting lineup in the Premier League last season (95). It was one of Chelsea’s more consistent league seasons, in fact, with them making more changes to their starting XI in 16 other Premier League campaigns. They were, though, obviously helped by being able to make wholesale changes for much of their UEFA Conference League campaign.
You would imagine that will change next season, though, as they prepare for their return to the UEFA Champions League, with more games in the league phase that will also be against much stronger opposition.
With potentially so many options to choose from next season, though, Maresca shouldn’t see it as too much of a chore, and we could see the Blues make a lot more alterations to their lineup in the league. The Premier League record for most lineup changes in a season is 144, jointly held by Manchester United (2013-14) and Manchester City (2019-20), while the most Chelsea have ever made is 139 in the 2022-23 campaign.
Ultimately, who are we to question Chelsea’s transfer strategy? The club has acquired some of the best and brightest youngsters in the game in recent years, and in theory, their trajectory only seems to be pointing up. Following a season in which they secured Champions League football and won a European trophy in the Conference League, these are exciting times in west London, however you look at it.
João Pedro and Gittens could end up making hundreds of appearances each for Chelsea over the next few years, but it will be interesting to see how Maresca keeps them and everyone else happy. And perhaps most curiously of all, whether the club can resist the urge to roll the dice again this time next year.
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Does Signing João Pedro and Jamie Gittens Make Sense for Chelsea, or the Players? Opta Analyst.
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