Maresca thanks Chelsea scouting team for “fantastic job” finding versatile star | OneFootball

Ahead of yesterday’s game against Brighton, Enzo Maresca had a lot of negative things to think about.

New injuries, old injuries, a team struggling in poor form. There was at least one good thing to talk about – the positive impression that Joao Pedro has made.

Versatile striker making Maresca very happy

Joao Pedro celebrates after a win. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

The striker arrived from Brighton in the summer as something of a surprise, given Liam Delap had been signed not long before. But the eventual departure of Nicolas Jackson explained a lot. JP was coming in to be number one, and he made an instant impact after his arrival to the Club World Cup knockout stages.

Maresca spoke in glowing terms about the striker and the process that brought him to Chelsea:

“We knew that Joao was a very good player. The scouting department did a fantastic job because they knew him very well from Brighton,” the coach said.

“We are very happy with Joao. Since he arrived, he has played almost every game. In some moments, we need to think to give him some rest, but we are very happy with Joao.

“He can solve situations and problems in games It’s very important. That’s why we used Joao Pedro against Fulham and West Ham as a second striker, because he can also play between the strikers and midfielders.

“Until now, since the Club World Cup, he has helped us a lot, and we don’t have any doubt that he will continue to help us a lot this season. He’s a very good player.”

Joao Pedro set for intense period until Delap’s return

With Delap missing until November at the very earliest, this is a huge period for JP. He is going to have to play a serious number of minute, probably too many. We hope he can handle it physically, and can keep finding the net.