Brighton sign Watford forward Joao Pedro for club record £30m

Brighton have confirmed the signing of Watford forward Joao Pedro for £30 million, breaking their transfer record in the process.

The Brazilian will move to the Amex in the summer on a five-year contract having been top scorer for the Hornets in the current Championship campaign with 11 goals from 35 appearances.

Pedro fits the profile of your typical Albion signing. He is only 21-years-old and so open to improvement, technically gifted and versatile with the ability to play as a striker, second striker, number 10 or on the left.

Where Pedro differs is his price tag. The £30 million fee is far in excess of anything Brighton have paid for a player before, the previous highest being £20 million for Adam Webster in the summer of 2019.

To pay such an amount represents a shift in policy. Roberto De Zerbi has more than earned that backing however, by leading Brighton to the cusp of European football for the first time ever.

De Zerbi has publicly stated on several occasions that he wants his squad strengthened for 2023-24 to continue competing for a top six spot.

A £30 million striker is a sure-fire way of keeping one of the best head coaches in Europe happy, kicking off what could be a busy summer. The capture of veteran Liverpool midfielder James Milner on a free transfer is expected to be announced shortly.

Brighton have moved early for Pedro, securing his signature before the transfer window opens to fend off interest from other top clubs.

Liverpool tracked Pedro when he was still a teenager in his native Brazil. AC Milan were said to be considering a summer bid having been “bewitched” by Pedro.

Despite him playing in a struggling Watford side, the Rossoneri saw him as a long-term successor to their aging striker options Olivier Giroud and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Newcastle United were reported to be close to signing Pedro during the January transfer window. Brighton technical director David Weir revealed the Albion have been tracking Pedro for some time, which makes you wonder if that stems back to Dan Ashworth’s days at the club and is where the Saudi Sportswashers’ interest came from.

As for Watford, they have a fine record when it comes to finding young talent in South America, also bringing Richarlison and a certain Pervis Estupinan to Europe.

Pedro was spotted and signed by the Hornets from Fluminese in October 2018 for £2 million before he had even made his professional debut.

He remained in Brazil for the next 14 months, becoming a first team regular in the 2019 season at the age of 17. Pedro scored seven times and contributed two assists from 28 matches before moving to Vicarage Road in January 2020.

There was little Pedro could do to prevent Watford being relegated come the end of the 2019-20 campaign. He did though play a big part in their immediate return to the top flight, scoring nine goals and claiming four assists to finish second top scorer after Ismaila Sarr.

Life amongst the elite in 2021-22 was a little tougher with Pedro contributing three goals in 28 matches. The Hornets were relegated again with 2022-23 bring to an end their yo-yo existence as they are marooned in mid table.

That has not stopped Pedro shining though and his 11 goals leave him 16th in the Championship top scorers list. Some interesting names are ahead of him, including former Brighton duo Chuba Akpom on 28 and Viktor Gyokeres on 21.

Blackburn Rovers striker and man linked with the Albion for what feels like every transfer window in the past 20 years Ben Brereton Diaz has one more than Pedro, sitting on 12.

Based on what he has done with Watford in the Premier League, Pedro needs to improve. Hornets fans will tell though that he has matured this season, even captaining the club on occasions despite his tender years.

There is no better place in England than Brighton for him to develop further and at a faster rate. Pedro’s arrival will also ease the burden on Danny Welbeck and Evan Ferguson, two players who need their game time carefully managed for different reasons.

Other things that may be of interest to Brighton fans about Joao Pedro is that he dated a 15-year-old Brazilian television star when he was 18 and still at Fluminese.

As the Daily Mirror helpfully pointed out when publishing the story: “The legal age of consent in the UK is 16, compared with 14 in their native Brazil”

Watford added in a statement one month after Pedro arrived in England: “Both Joao and his girlfriend are acutely aware of both the legality and cultural differences between the UK and Brazil.”

“She has flown back to Brazil, will remain resident there and has no intention of returning to England until after her 16th birthday.” What a day that must have been in the Hornets media department.

Scandalously, Pedro is not a fan of Elton John either. After meeting the Hornets’ most famous supporter in 2021, Pedro said: “He came to the dressing room after the game and handed out some player of the year awards. With all respect to him, I prefer Brazilian music.”