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How Pedro’s transfer saga unfolded

By on August 20, 2015

Love it, hate it, or feel both at the same time if you’re a Manchester United fan in this season’s transfer window, the saga regarding Pedro has been yet another example of the uncertainty in football, particularly when Chelsea are involved. Chelsea have proved they are still opportunistic after their dry run earlier this summer, pinching the Barcelona star from under the noses of Manchester United.  Richard Lewis takes a look at how the story unfolded, with the key events and names from the tricky transfer tangle:

At last Pedro will go!

For all the “ostriches” out there, as Nigel Pearson would say, Chelsea have announced the signing of Pedro from for a fee of £21 million — the hyped release clause that Manchester United failed to meet. The twenty-eight-year-old flew into London to undergo a medical and finalize the terms of the transfer yesterday and not forty-eight hours after United seemed to have a deal all hitched up, with Ed Woodward having reportedly flown into Barcelona to finalize the deal, Pedro is now officially a Chelsea player. The Bluess next meeting with the Red Devils just got that much more spicy.

The Spain international is a product of the famed La Liga club’s highly acclaimed academy, La Masia, along with new Chelsea teammate Cesc Fabregas. Pedro has scored ninety-nine goals in 326 appearances since making his Barca debut in 2008 and the last was perhaps the most important — the winner in Barca’s thrilling UEFA Super Cup win over Sevilla. Pedro made fifty appearances for Barcelona last season and has won the Champions League on three occasions, scoring a goal in Barca’s 2011 Champions League final against United at Wembley.

He will be Chelsea’s second signing in less than a week, after Ghana defender Baba Rahman arrived for a reported £21.7 million from German side Augsburg. Both deals took place in the aftermath of Chelsea’s heavy 3-0 defeat to Manchester City at the Etihad and Jose Mourinho still seems keen to add Everton defender John Stones to their ranks this summer. Mourinho already had a reported £30 million bid for the Englishman turned down and his benching of John Terry only adds another twist to the story.

Mane United!

There are likely a wealth of reasons why Pedro joined Chelsea in favor of a move to Manchester United, and it may be the fact that Jose Mourinho and former teammate Cesc Fabregas convinced him that life would be better at Stamford Bridge than in the merry-go-round of stars that Louis van Gaal runs at United. That’s the story Chelsea seem to be offering; however, it also seems that United’s interest might have waned somewhat after the outstanding performance of Memphis Depay against Club Brugge on Tuesday. Now, United’s sights have turned to Man[e].

Southampton have reportedly admitted that Manchester United are interested in signing Senegal winger Sadio Mane, although manager Ronald Koeman has since claimed that the club are “not selling any more players.” Furthermore, the Saints have denied receiving a bid from United for the twenty-three-year-old.

Mane scored ten goals in thirty-two appearances for the Saints last season after joining for £10 million, including the fastest recorded Premier League hat-trick in just two minutes and fifty-six seconds as part of Southampton’s 6-1 win over Aston Villa. Louis van Gaal has already raided St. Mary’s for Luke Shaw and Morgan Schneiderlin since taking over at United last year; Shaw cost £27 million in 2014 and Schneiderlin cost £24 million this summer. If Southampton eventually cave and sell Mane it would certainly take a similar sum.

Even if they don’t purchase the Senegalese international, United need to “Man[e] up” and move on from Pedro’s rejection quickly should Van Gaal be interested in another attacker before the transfer window closes in ten days’ time.

One In, Juan Out!

If anybody needed any more confirmation that Juan Cuadrado’s career with Chelsea is all but over after disappointing seven months at Stamford Bridge, they found it in the Pedro signing. The Colombian international was signed for £23.3 million from Fiorentina in January, but could be set for an early return to Italy, with Serie A champions Juventus a possible destination for the twenty-seven-year-old, following reports that Chelsea have begun taking offers for the winger. Cuadrado’s fellow forgotten signing (or one of them, as Victor Moses has also been pushed out of the picture) Mohamed Salah joined Roma on loan earlier this summer, after spending the second half of last season on loan with Fiorentina.

After a lull in the market as preseason came around, it looks like most of the Premier League’s big boys are splashing the cash late in the transfer window as Manuel Pellegrini looks set to sign Argentine centre-back Nicolas Otamendi for £32 million from Valencia. Do you think Chelsea, United City, or another top side has one more trick up their sleeve in this transfer market? Comment below!

Photo credit: Daniel Cort, via Wikipedia Commons

About Richard Lewis

Richard Lewis can relate almost anything to football and quite often does! You may have seen Richard's previous ideas and work in the BBC Match of the Day Magazine, from 2011 to present. He is a Manchester United and England fan, but has gone to see Leyton Orient play with his O's season ticket in the 2013/14 campaign. Aside from football, Richard has written articles on Doctor Who and studies English Language and Linguistics at the University of Westminster. Aspiring sports journalist.