19 forwards & £600m later... is Joao Pedro the frontman Chelsea need?

Chelsea aren't exactly short of riches in the forward department, but Joao Pedro may have just given himself a head start over his new attacking colleagues before Sunday's Club World Cup final.

The Brazilian, who joined Chelsea from Brighton last week, is one of 19 forwards to have signed for the Blues under their American owners, who have now spent £600m on attacking players since assuming control of the club in 2022.

After making his debut in the Club World Cup quarter-final win over Palmeiras on Saturday, the frontman was handed his first start in the last-four tie against Fluminense – his boyhood side – and announced his arrival with two stunning strikes either side of half-time.

With 18 minutes gone, the Brazilian collected a half-cleared cross on the corner of the penalty area, took one touch to steady himself and arrowed a stunning drive past 44-year-old goalkeeper Fabio and into the far corner to open the scoring.

His second was just as aesthetically pleasing as he ran onto Enzo Fernandez's throughball from near the halfway line, darted into the box and slammed a right-footed shot into the net via the crossbar 11 minutes into the second half.

With Chelsea set to receive £21.9m for reaching the final – where they will play either Real Madrid or Paris St-Germain – Joao Pedro's goalscoring exploits on Tuesday mean he has already repaid over a third of his transfer fee.

"It was a dream," he told DAZN afterwards. "I don't think it could have gone any better.

"I'm happy to have scored my first goals. [The Club World Cup] would be my first title as well. I only came here a week ago, and now I'm going to play the final."

Have Chelsea finally found the answer to their centre-forward woes?

Enzo Maresca's side have wasted little time in bolstering their attacking options this summer, bringing in Jamie Gittens from Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City's Liam Delap and Brazilian teenager Estevao Willian from Palmeiras – as well as Joao Pedro.

The former Brighton striker, who scored 30 goals in 70 games for the Seagulls after joining from Watford in 2023, has been signed to provide competition for the number nine and 10 positions.

And he staked his claim for a regular place in Maresca's team with a superb full debut at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium.

The Brazilian found the net with two of his three attempts – and with both his efforts on target. Only Christopher Nkunku registered as many shots, while no other Blues player had as many shots on target.

The forward also gave the Blues an attacking focal point, competing in nine duels and four aerial duels before being replaced by Nicolas Jackson on the hour mark.

Only Nkunku and Moises Caicedo – both of whom were on the pitch a lot longer – registered more duels overall, with only Marc Cucurella and Trevoh Chalobah taking part in as many aerial tussles.

"It's not just the goals," said ex-Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale on DAZN. "It's the link-up play, it's the passing, it's the vision. It was a great all-round performance.

"This is the next step up in his career. He's on the right trajectory. We can see the ability he's got and hopefully he can keep kicking on."

England forward Callum Wilson added: "He's already a player with confidence but he will have wanted to hit the ground running straight away and that's exactly what he has done.

"What a signing he could turn out to be."

Joao Pedro registered 26 touches of the ball against Fluminense. Of all Chelsea forwards to have started at the Club World Cup, only Jackson has managed as many touches in a match.

Not all of the Brazilian's touches took place inside the opposition half, however – far from it.

He was involved all over the pitch in Tuesday's quarter-final, with seven of his touches coming inside his own half.

"The good thing about Joao is that we knew already how good he was," said Maresca after the game, also revealing he spoke to ex-Brighton manager Roberto de Zerbi prior to signing him.

"Today he played deep but we know he is able to drop deep and link up the play. That's why we decided to bring him in."

By contrast, Delap only touched the ball twice inside his own half after starting Chelsea's final group game against Tunis, while only four of Jackson's touches against Palmeiras took place in the Blues' half of the pitch.

Joao Pedro also made more of an impact in wide areas, regularly popping up on both flanks in an effort to influence Chelsea's build-up play.

The majority of Delap and Jackson's touches, meanwhile, were in central areas in the final third of the pitch.

"Every team has a different style to play: Delap has a style, Jackson another and I have my way," Joao Pedro said before Tuesday's game.

"I think whoever brings more good things to the team is going to play."

On this evidence, Joao Pedro has more than an outside chance of beating both Delap and Jackson to a starting berth in Sunday's showpiece.