'He's not Kylian Mbappe or Erling Haaland': Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca calls for Joao Pedro expectations to be lowered

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has suggested that expectations over Joao Pedro's goal return should be lowered.

In June, Chelsea paid in the region of £60m to sign the Brazil international from Brighton & Hove Albion and he immediately played a key role in the Blues lifting the Club World Cup trophy.

Pedro now has five goals and three assists from his 14 appearances in a Chelsea shirt, but the 24-year-old's last such contribution came against Brentford on September 13.

Although Chelsea cannot claim to have completely missed the injured Cole Palmer, Pedro had been expected to step up in his absence, rather than his productivity decrease.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of Wednesday's EFL Cup fourth round tie against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Maresca maintained that he was happy with the attacker's efforts.

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Maresca comments on Pedro form

At a time when Maresca has suggested that Pedro has not been 100% fit, he also feels that there is 'no problem' with the player's numbers in the final third.

The Italian said: "For sure, the physical part is important. When you are not 100%, it is difficult to compete in this league.

"Joao is not a problem at all, he is going to score goals for us, give us assists. Joao Pedro is not a No.9 who is going to score 20 goals a season.

"He is a fantastic player, but he is a different type of No.9 that score 20 or 25 goals each year, like [Robert] Lewandowski, [Kylian] Mbappe and {Erling] Haaland."

Maresca added in the same media briefing that Pedro was one of three players who could be rested for the trip to Molineux.

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Where should Pedro play for Chelsea?

Given the injuries to Palmer and Liam Delap, Pedro has been forced to switch between playing as a number nine and 10.

That has not aided the South American when it comes to building a rhythm in either position, but the return of Delap and progression of Marc Guiu should leave him regarded as a number 10.

Maresca is right to lower expectations regarding his scoring numbers with Pedro having never netted more than 11 goals in a Premier League campaign.

His best tally in all competitions is 20 across 40 appearances for Brighton in 2023-24, but as many as 10 of those strikes came from the penalty spot.