'He Reminds Me Of Benzema': Alonso Hails Joao Pedro’s All-round Qualities

He reminds me of Benzema: Alonso hails Joao Pedro’s all-round qualities (He reminds me of Benzema: Alonso hails Joao Pedro’s all-round qualities)

Premier League Player: Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso has compared Joao Pedro to former Real Madrid great Karim Benzema, praising the Brazilian striker’s all-round qualities and intelligence following his impressive start to the 2026/27 Premier League season.

Pedro was named the Premier League Player of the Month for August after playing a key role in Chelsea’s perfect start to the campaign. The 24-year-old scored twice and provided two assists in Chelsea’s opening two league matches against Fulham and Brighton & Hove Albion.

Alonso, who has worked with Pedro for only a couple of months, believes the Brazilian possesses many of the qualities associated with elite centre-forwards and feels that his style reminds him of Benzema, his former Real Madrid teammate.

“As a profile of a striker, he seems to be able to do everything. He reminds me of (Karim) Benzema because he’s good in the box, he’s good out of the box, he’s good coming to the left side, good with the head. He’s very complete. He’s intelligent,” Alonso said in an official statement.

Alonso also believes Pedro belongs in the conversation alongside the Premier League’s top strikers, including Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, and highlighted his contribution beyond goals and assists.

“He’s been top, not just football-wise but personality-wise, his maturity,” Alonso said. “He has a very strong goal this year: to have a great season, to score many goals, to be a [Player of the Month] nominee not just this month, but for more months. "I'm really not surprised but am really happy with the kind of player that we have with Joao,” he said.

Pedro opened his Premier League campaign with an early goal against Fulham and later assisted Cole Palmer for the winning goal in Chelsea’s 3-2 victory.

He again made a decisive contribution against former club Brighton, scoring Chelsea’s third goal before setting up Palmer for the winner in a thrilling 4-3 home victory.

Those performances earned him his first Player of the Month award and made him the first Chelsea player to claim the monthly prize since Palmer in September 2024.

Pedro also became the seventh Brazilian to win the award, joining Juninho, Edu, David Luiz, Lucas Moura, Rodrigo Muniz and Igor Thiago.

Those performances earned him his first Player of the Month award and made him the first Chelsea player to claim the monthly prize since Palmer in September 2024.

“So yes, he’s still young, and he still has things to develop, but he has many absolutely outstanding qualities,” the Chelsea manager said.

Article Source: IANS