Chelsea striker Joao Pedro demonstrated his determination with a nine-minute hat-trick in a pre-season friendly against the Western Sydney Wanderers, a performance that manager Xabi Alonso described as a sign of his player's hunger. Pedro, 24, was notably left out of the Brazil squad for the World Cup by manager Carlo Ancelotti.
During the match in Sydney, Pedro entered the game as a substitute while Chelsea was trailing 3-2. He then assisted a teammate's equalizer before scoring three goals himself, contributing to Chelsea's 6-4 victory. "He is very hungry," Alonso said when asked about Pedro's World Cup snub. "Joao is really, really determined to have a great season. He wants to keep scoring more and more."
Alonso emphasized the team's role in supporting the striker, stating, "We need to help him. On his own it's not possible. He will have the players around him. It’s not just about the striker, but every time we win and our striker scores, I am happy."
The manager also addressed transfer speculation, particularly regarding potential moves for Danny Welbeck and Jordan Henderson. When asked about Liam Delap's potential departure to make way for Welbeck, Alonso commented on Delap's current condition, "I see him in a good mood, in a good desire to get proper fitness, proper football, feeling good, and he's doing well."
Regarding the pursuit of experienced players like Welbeck and Brentford midfielder Henderson, Alonso highlighted the importance of game intelligence and readiness for the upcoming competition. "Everyone has to learn. Everyone. It doesn't matter if you are young, if you are more experienced, this is what happens in the game," he stated. "This is a quality as well that you need. You can be quick. You can be good at dribbling. But you can have this game intelligence to do the things and from everything we need to be quick because the competition is in just almost a month and we want to get ready for that."
Alonso added, "We want to have a complete squad and we want to make a good team. For that we have an idea, we have a plan, and let's see how we set it up until the start of the Premier League." When directly questioned about Welbeck, Alonso responded, "No comment."
In other team news, midfielder Romeo Lavia did not play due to a minor hamstring issue. The match saw 16-year-old Reggie Watson, son of former footballer Ben Watson, complete the full 90 minutes and impress in midfield. 17-year-old Dastan Satpayev, a recent arrival from Kazakhstan's FC Kairat, also caught Alonso's eye, with the manager describing him as "really strong, really quick, and you will be really impressed with him."