Chelsea are planning a late move for Barcelona forward Pedro as the Blues look to trump Manchester United in the chase for the experienced Nou Camp star, according to the Daily Mail.
Pedro has seen his involvement in the Barcelona first-team set-up reduced under Luis Enrique, as the arrival of Luis Suarez from Liverpool has seen the Spanish international’s opportunities in the starting eleven severely limited.
Last term, Pedro managed just 15 La Liga starts, this after the Tenerife-born attacker had racked up a career-best haul of 15 La Liga goals in 2013/14, and has had to take a back-seat as Enrique’s three-pronged front-line of Neymar, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi helped the Catalan giants to a superb treble last term.
The Daily Mail claim that Pedro is ready to join Man United, but the Old Trafford side are yet to fork out the £22m needed to trigger his release clause, leaving the door ajar to their Premier League rivals.
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Jose Mourinho would do well to bring in Pedro, who could offer the Stamford Bridge boss a better option in the final third than Brazilian Willian, who currently occupies the right-sided berth in the Chelsea attack.
Willian has proven very ineffective over the past year, the 27-year-old scoring just two goals and providing three assists in 36 Premier League appearances in 2014/15, and backup option Juan Cuadrado also not a player who has impressed since his move to Chelsea.
Pedro is an experienced campaigner who could offer either Chelsea or Man United a strong versatile weapon at a relatively low price.