Three Premier League clubs have reportedly expressed their interest in signing Brighton & Hove Albion forward Joao Pedro.
The 23-year-old has established himself as a star player at the Amex Stadium since joining from Watford for a then club-record fee of £30m in the summer of 2023.
Pedro scored 20 goals across all competitions in his debut campaign for the Seagulls and has since found the net 10 times in 27 Premier League appearances this season.
The Brazil international is considered an important first-team player for head coach Fabian Hurzeler and he still has over three years remaining on his Brighton contract.
However, Pedro has regularly been linked with a possible big-money move elsewhere and speculation over his future has surfaced once again ahead of this summer's transfer window.
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Which clubs want to sign Joao Pedro?
According to The Telegraph, Premier League champions Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea are all showing interest Pedro ahead of a possible summer transfer.
The report adds that all three clubs are looking to strengthen their forward line ahead of the new campaign, with industry insiders expecting a busy summer window for strikers.
It is claimed that Arne Slot is set to be backed with one of Liverpool's biggest ever transfer budgets and a striker is among their priorities amidst uncertainty over the long-term future of Darwin Nunez.
Arsenal, meanwhile, are believed to be long-term admirers of Pedro and they allegedly explored the possibility of signing the Brighton star in previous seasons.
The Gunners are said to be considering a number of attacking options, particularly a centre-forward and left-winger, and Pedro is someone who has shown that he can operate in a variety of attacking positions.
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Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea all plotting striker signings this summer
Pedro is not the only name on Mikel Arteta's radar, though, as they have also been credited with an interest in the likes of Sporting Lisbon's Viktor Gyokeres, RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko and Athletic Bilbao's Nico Williams.
As for Chelsea, they are another Premier League club in the market for a new striker and are said to have a long-standing admiration for Pedro, while Sesko and Ipswich Town's Liam Delap are also among their list of targets for Enzo Maresca.
Brighton are under no pressure to part ways with Pedro, but if they do change their stance on the forward, it is claimed that they are likely to demand a fee that far exceeds the £30m they paid for him two summers ago.
Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea could all be competing in the Champions League next season, while Brighton are in danger of missing out on European qualification altogether as they currently sit ninth in the Premier League table, level on points with eighth-placed Brentford with only two games remaining against Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.
If is worth noting that the Seagulls have already signed a new striker in the form of 20-year-old Stefanos Tzimas who officially joined the club in January for a reported £20m before being loaned straight back to German outfit Nuremberg for the rest of this season.
Oliver Thomas
