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Chelsea risk Joao Pedro fury as latest transfer target confirmed
Cameron Smith
- Updated: 9 Apr 2026 21:44 BST
- 4 min read
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Chelsea risk angering summer signing Joao Pedro amid rumours they want to bring Brighton & Hove Albion centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke to the club ahead of next season.
The Blues are expected to be active in the transfer market this summer and their recruitment chiefs have already begun plotting their upcoming business after a number of meetings with head coach Liam Rosenior.
Current ETV
Jan Paul van Hecke
D (C)
Brighton
Jan Paul van Hecke
D (C)
Brighton
ETV Range
€34.1M - €41.7M
Widespread reports have confirmed that Chelsea are ready to move away from their previous youth-centric approach to transfers this summer, with the club willing to bring proven experience to Stamford Bridge in a bid to help Rosenior compete for major honours next year.
It’s understood that players who have performed consistently in the Premier League are likely to be targeted by the Blues hierarchy, with a new centre-back, a new central midfielder and a new forward on their wishlist.
Chelsea have already finalised deals for Geovany Quenda, Emmanuel Emegha, Denner and Dastan Satpaev ahead of this summer, while it’s understood they have also agreed terms to bring Strasbourg midfielder Valentin Barco to the club too.
However, the Blues are ready to further back Rosenior in the market and Chelsea journalist Simon Phillips has reported that Murillo (Nottingham Forest), Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton) and Van Hecke (Brighton) have all been earmarked as potential centre-back signings.
Chelsea risk Joao Pedro fury
Van Hecke has been one of the Premier League’s standout central defenders over the past two seasons, and his Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) currently stands just shy of €40 million.
Meanwhile, data analytics experts SciSports believe he would become Chelsea’s third best centre-back if he joins the club this summer, behind academy products Levi Colwill and Trevoh Chalobah.
However, the Blues may be required to tread carefully if they want to sign him.
That is because the aforementioned Pedro was involved in a training ground spat with Van Hecke at the end of last season, with the Brazilian subsequently suspended for Brighton’s final two matches of the campaign as a result of the incident.
The extent of their bust-up isn’t known, but Pedro was keen to avoid talking about the subject following his €63.7m move to Chelsea.
“I think the people who know me know my character but when two players want to win, these things happen and this is normal,” he told reporters when asked about the incident.
“It was just two players in the moment, we both wanted to win. But like I said, I now play for Chelsea so I just want to talk about Chelsea. I had a good time at Brighton but now I’m in Chelsea, I just want to talk about Chelsea.”
Of course, the pair may be able to leave their dispute in the past if Van Hecke joins Pedro at Chelsea, but it could be a red flag for the Blues.
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