Chelsea beats United to sign Pedro

19 Aug, 2015 By Agencies

Category: Football
Tag : Pedro Font size -16+

Chelsea have beaten rivals Manchester United to the signing of Spain forward Pedro Rodríguez from Barcelona. This is a big blow to Manchester United Club since they have been keen to have the player at Old Trafford.

According to Spanish publication the Marca reporter, Pedro is already in London undergoing a medical, having been given permission to do so by Barcelona. An official announcement of the move is expected imminently.

Chelsea will sign Pedro from Barcelona on Wednesday in a £21.1million deal.

Manchester United pulled away from the deal on Tuesday night with the 28-year-old Spain international keen on a move to London.

Louis van Gaal and executive vice chairman Ed Woodward held more talks about the move on Monday night but decided not to push through their initial interest.

Pedro was understood to be unimpressed by United's pursuit after failing to be convinced that they really wanted him to join.

Manchester City and Chelsea have both been in contact with Barcelona for a number of weeks, however, the Premier League champions moved quickly after a weekend in which Jose Mourinho made it clear he needed improvements to his squad.

The Blues' will pay £19million up front to the Catalan giants, an improvement on the £17million offered by United.

The World Cup winner, who will team up at Stamford Bridge with friend Cesc Fabregas, is expected to have a medical on Wednesday afternoon with Chelsea's Spanish doctor Paco Biosca overseeing events.

Sportsmail understands Mourinho personally spoke to Pedro to convince the winger of his worth to his new suitors in order to seal the deal.

Pedro's camp were unaware of United chief Ed Woodward's trip to Barcelona to try to get the deal over the line in what became a breakdown in United's attempt for his signature.

A United source said that the club had decided to end their interest in Pedro and that the decision was made by manager Louis van Gaal.

They added: 'Money was never an issue given the buyout clause. If it was clear cut the deal would have been done weeks ago.'

Pedro's arrival will likely trigger the departure of Juan Cuadrado with Juventus waiting in the wings to sign the Colombian. His pace and work-ethic will also add greater protection to a defence that has come under scrutiny in the opening Premier League games.

United were in pole position to sign the World Cup winner after executive vice-chairman Woodward flew to Barcelona for further talks on Monday.

But Chelsea went toe-to-toe with their Barclays Premier League rivals, with Roman Abramovich particularly keen on signing the player.

Chelsea need to boost their own attacking options before the close of the summer transfer window following a miserable start to the new season.

Jose Mourinho's side were handed a 3-0 drubbing by Manchester City on Sunday after a chastening draw at home against Swansea in their opening game.

Chelsea first had an interest in Pedro earlier in the summer but Mourinho wasn’t sure.

United’s neighbours City were also interested in a deal for Pedro but have made Wolfsburg midfielder Kevin De Bruyne their top target.

Pedro had appeared to be ready to join United for some time and expressed his intentions to quit Barcelona after a trophy-laden 10-year career at the Nou Camp.

But United's prevarication over the fee - Pedro has a £22m buy-out clause in his contract - opened the door for one of their main rivals.