Joao Pedro names his best position and what Enzo Maresca told him to improve on | OneFootball

Chelsea forward Joao Pedro is one of those players who is a bit of a hybrid flexible player who can play in many different roles.

These types of players are very modern and what a lot of managers love to work with purely because they are so good that they can do a good job anywhere on the pitch.

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Pedro has arrived at Chelsea and really hit the ground running, scoring and assisting in pretty much every game he has played so far since he joined Chelsea in the USA for the Club World Cup over the summer.

He came in from Chelsea’s feeder club, Brighton, where he was a bit of a star man but wanted to move to a club where he can challenge for trophies and get some medals. I’m obviously joking about the feeder club bit here!

But a player who is so good at playing in many different positions may not always be able to tell you what his best position is. Although with Pedro, he can tell you.

Pedro is a 9

Joao Pedro lashes in a shot. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

So he refers to himself as a modern day striker, or a modern 9 as he puts it in an exclusive interview with The Evening Standard today.

He says:

“When I arrived in the USA, Enzo said: ‘I want you as a No9’. In training, he says, ‘João, you need to be more clinical in this part, make a touch to the right here.’ I love this kind of coach. If you don’t get feedback, it’s difficult to improve.

“I moved to Fluminense aged ten, and I was a No10. At Under-16s, one director there told me I was going to be a No9. Okay, no problem, so I started to play as a No9. In three games, I scored 15 goals. Then in a tournament in Belo Horizonte, I was second top-scorer, and Watford started to call my agent.

“Old No9s held it up, were physical; my style is different,” he says. “I’m very good in one-versus-ones, can pass, get assists, score. I’m a modern No9 who can play No10. I play in small spaces.” He admits he must “score more goals with my head”, despite netting two headers in Chelsea’s last two games.”