Joao Pedro to Chelsea causes £96m transfer domino effect as two deals given green light

Chelsea have announced the signing of Joao Pedro from Brighton. The Blues reached a £55million agreement with the Seagulls at the weekend and the Brazil international has now completed a medical in the United States.

Joao Pedro has put pen to paper on an eight-year contract at Stamford Bridge after turning down Newcastle United in favour of Chelsea. The Blues have now registered the 23-year-old attacker in time for him to be included in the FIFA Club World Cup squad. Joao Pedro will be in contention to make his debut on Friday evening against Palmeiras in the quarter-final.

With this deal now completed, this could well have a domino effect on a couple of Chelsea players. Christopher Nkunku, who is a similar profile to Joao Pedro in terms of the positions he plays, wants to leave this summer, football.london understands. The 27-year-old attacker has spent the past two seasons in west London but it has not quite worked out for him.

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Cole Palmer being in his position has not helped. Nkunku started just nine matches in the Premier League last season and at this point of his career, he is understandably looking for more frequent football. Nkunku, who scored Chelsea's second goal in the win against Benfica at the weekend, is focusing on the Club World Cup before making any definitive decisions over his future.

Meanwhile, another player that is expected to be sold is Joao Felix. The Portuguese attacker looked fairly certain to leave regardless of the Joao Pedro signing. But with the deal now signed, sealed and delivered, Felix's future is looking even more certain to be away from Stamford Bridge.

The 25-year-old attacker started just three times in the Premier League before being sent on loan to AC Milan midway through the season. Felix is not part of Enzo Maresca's immediate plans at Chelsea and work will be conducted behind the scenes to find him a new home.

It leaves Chelsea with Joao Pedro and Palmer as the No.10 options for the coming season but the likes of Enzo Fernandez and Estevao Willian can both play in the creative role as well.