Chelsea left-back Emerson has identified winger Pedro as the club’s best player in trainin.
Pedro was tipped to leave the Blues over the summer, but has played a prominent role for the club this season under Maurizio Sarri, scoring five Premier League goals.
How close was Pedro to leaving? Five things to know…
- At 31, and with the likes of Eden Hazard and Willian at the club, Pedro was rumoured to be on the move over the summer.
- The Spaniard was used sporadically last season, starting just 17 league matches.
- However, Pedro later revealed he would likely remain at the club.
- Regarded as one of the ideal ‘system players’, Pedro has already netted more league goals (five) than he managed last term (four).
- He is now a key member of Sarri’s team and has the joint-second most league goals per 90 minutes ratio (0.6) of any Chelsea player, behind only Ruben Loftus-Cheek (1.22).
Pedro started in the club’s 2-0 win against Manchester City at the weekend, playing the full 90 minutes as Chelsea brought an end to Pep Guardiola’s unbeaten run of 15 league matches.
The Spaniard’s starting berth for such a crucial clash was indicative of the faith Sarri has shown, and continues to show in the experienced winger this campaign.
Sarri has already lauded the former Barcelona man, believing he is “lucky” to have such an attacking talent at his disposal: “Pedro is a great player. I think in every season he has scored about 15 goals, so it is normal for him to score.”
He was on the periphery of first-team action last season, but, it has now been revealed why Pedro has reinvigorated his Chelsea career, and it is not just his prodigious talent, but also his work-rate according to team-mate Emerson.
When quizzed on who the best player in training is, the Italy international told the club’s official website: “It’s hard because everybody trains really well and with a lot of commitment, but I would say Pedro.”
David Luiz would make a good striker – Emerson
Emerson was also asked which defensive team-mate of his would make for the best striker, and the full-back selected David Luiz as the man he would entrust with the No. 9 role.
He said: “David Luiz. He is very technical and has good feet so he would make a good striker.”
Luiz has been no stranger to scoring sublime goals over the years, his thunderous free-kick against west London rivals Fulham in 2013 is still remembered fondly at Stamford Bridge.
The 31-year-old also netted in both legs of the Europa League semi-finals against Basel that same year, with his first also coming from a dead-ball situation, though his screamer at Craven Cottage remains the more memorable of the moments.
Luiz also scored the second goal in Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Man City at the weekend, wrapping up the three points with a header from a corner.
Chelsea next face MOL Vidi FC in the Europa League on Thursday.
The post Pedro picked out as Chelsea’s best player in training appeared first on Squawka News.
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