“I’ve always been a number nine”: Joao Pedro ready to shoulder Chelsea’s scoring burden after prolific pre-season | OneFootball

Joao Pedro has said he is ready to embrace the expectation on him to score goals as Chelsea's number nine.

Pedro scored twice as Chelsea concluded their pre-season campaign with a 3-1 win over Real Sociedad at the weekend.

The Brazilian's brace continued a prolific pre-season for Pedro, who has scored seven times across the summer fixtures.

Pedro was named Chelsea's Player of the Season in 2025/26 after scoring 23 goals during his debut season, and is ready to shoulder the responsibility for goals again.

Despite debate over his best position, Pedro has said he has always been a number nine.

Joao Pedro targets prolific season as Chelsea’s number nine after Real Sociedad brace

"My position has always been number nine," Pedro said tochelseafc.com.

"But because I have good technique, I can come deeper or go to the wing. But I just want to play and help the team on the pitch.

"Sometimes I will be deep, sometimes in the box. What I can’t lose is the instinct of where I need to be on the pitch. Sometimes, in football, you just need to feel.

"If you just stay in the box, maybe you don’t get many chances. But if you stay outside, you can be far away from the goal. So, I need to use this feeling and then score goals.

"When I was younger, I played in different positions; I think it has helped me a lot. But we have top players in the middle of the pitch, so I will focus on scoring the goals!"

Pedro admitted his first campaign at Chelsea did not go to plan from a team perspective, as the Blues finished 10th in thePremier League to miss out on Europe.

Having started his Chelsea career with Club World Cup success just days after arriving last summer, Pedro has his sights set on improvement and more silverware.

"My first year here was special, but it wasn’t what we wanted as a group. So, I will continue to give my best and hopefully I can have another good season and the team also achieves our targets.

"I know that when a new player joins a club, sometimes it can be a little bit difficult. For me at Chelsea, it was completely different. I felt at home straight away and won a trophy after just ten days!

"I feel very comfortable here and, hopefully, we can win more titles together."