Some interesting tidbits in there:
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To garner some real insight into what the versatile forward was like during his formative years in England, Anfield Watch spoke to Watford guru, and host of the Watford Buzz Podcast, Tom Bodell.
AW: What were your initial thoughts on Pedro when he signed for Watford?
TB: João Pedro arrived at Vicarage Road with a lot of expectation riding on his shoulders. The club announced his signing when he was still only 17 and we have become used to South American players arriving via the Pozzo family network. The most high-profile example to benefit Watford prior to Pedro was Richarlison. The club went to some effort to bring him here, inviting his mother and stepfather over and creating content around that. As had been the case with Richarlison, they leveraged countryman Heurelho Gomes, who loved his time here and remains a cult figure. All of that lifted the expectation levels. There were also reports Liverpool, Manchester City and Barcelona had tried to get Fluminense to break their agreement with the club and sell Pedro to them instead. So before he'd kicked a ball, there was a lot of expectation on his shoulders even if all we had to go on were a few clips of goals on bad pitches in Brazil.
I was there for his debut - a topsy-turvy FA Cup 3rd Round tie against Tranmere Rovers - and if you'd told me this lanky, scrawny lad who stood next to Nigel Pearson awaiting his bow in English football would go on to be so sought after, I'd have laughed. He clearly had ability and confidence but the rest needed work on that initial viewing. We hardly saw him the rest of the season, getting 25 minutes across three sub outings at the season's end as we were relegated.
This isn't meant as a dig, but Watford have had a number of players in the past who simply should not have spent any time at Vicarage Road. Where does Pedro rank in terms of pure talent when compared to Richarlison and Sarr?
For me, he's the best of the bunch. It's not a straight comparison because Richarlison's single season was in the Premier League. Pedro's body of work in the top flight was not that impressive - scoring three and assisting one - but we were a truly awful side in 2021/22. The real marker was going back to the Championship. Sarr clearly had ability but was bought for a head coach who wanted to - and had considerable success - playing a narrow 4-2-2-2. We then cycled through three further managers and his moments though fleeting were impressive. You may recall a 3-0 defeat at Vicarage Road before the Pandemic took hold of the sporting calendar?
It always felt like Sarr needed the team to be playing well to be on song. Pedro was the player who would lift the team or, failing that, just do it on his own and grab the game by the scruff of the neck. Sometimes he ended up frustrated and he took a look of physical stuff in his stride, which in the long run was really good for him. Richarlison's solitary season was more like a good four or five months. But by then his reputation preceded him and talk of a move to Everton - we've a mutual disdain there - with Marco Silva really turned his head and he went into hibernation. If I was feeling charitable, I might point to the fact he rolled straight from the Brazilian Série A season into the Premier League. But I'm not!
How did he develop during his time with the Hornets?
Every season felt like a big step forward. I called him scrawny earlier but by the time he left us he had bulked up considerably and players were just bouncing off him. There's a misnomer that Brazilian football is all 'Joga Bonito' but it's really not. It's a tough, physical nation and Pedro looked really at home in that regard early on. His first full season was the 2020/21 which was played behind closed doors. We weren't a brilliant side but between him and the aforementioned Sarr we had the individual quality to win games even when we weren't at our best. He scored nine times that season but you couldn't fairly measure his contribution in terms of goals alone. Again, we were wretched back in the Premier League but he did not look out of place. He scored in the 4-1 thrashing of Manchester United that cost Ole Gunnar Solskjær his job. It was our most-complete display of the season and you really thought we might click with Pedro at the forefront.
Back in the Championship, he went up several gears. He was now very aware he was the main man. He was given the license to be the player, often had a free role and was captain on a few occasions too. He had that good arrogance; he would just pick the ball up and carry us on his back up the field, defenders bouncing off him. Again, he wasn't prolific but we were terrible, went through three head coaches (you've heard this one before, haven't you?!) and would have been even worse had he not been there.
How was his attitude and application when playing in the Championship?
I don't think I've ever heard or seen a Watford fan criticise his attitude. Which says a lot because we've got our aforementioned gripes with Richarlison, Sarr and Emmanuel Dennis - the other clearly-too-good-for-us forward we've had in recent times. They all felt like individuals at times. Pedro was a team player but innately aware of his own superiority to the rest of the squad. I think he relished being top dog and there was a swagger to him at times. It never threatened to bubble over but it gave him the mandate to go out and dominate games in ways none of those other three ever did. They were moments players. Pedro was the game.
How did you feel when he was sold to Brighton for £30million?
Gutted but we knew it was inevitable. If anything, it was more worrying that we sold him so sharply. By which I mean his exit was agreed before the end of the 2022/23 season and the suspicion is that was because we needed a cash-heavy deal to plug the gaps in our accounts before the end of that accounting period. Hornets supporters follow his progress with interest to this day though - and not just because we have a sell-on clause. You may have seen the message a Watford fan sent into BBC Sport recently about feeling like a 'Proud father' watching him excel in the Premier League. We all knew he had it in him, the only question is how far would he go?
In your opinion, is he ready for a big move? And do you think he could be the #9 for Liverpool?
He is 100 per cent ready for that next step. Liverpool have - by all accounts - known about him for a long time and it's always felt his destiny was to end up at a club of that calibre since before he pitched up in a snowy WD18 all the way back in 2018 to sign before his 18th birthday. What I will say is he is not a No.9 in the conventional sense. So if you're pinning your hopes on him being what you think Dawin Nuñez was going to be, you will be disappointed - again. That said, Liverpool had for a long time probably the most-famous non-No.9 in the world in countryman Bobby Firmino, so I don't think the number on the back of his shirt will be an issue.
I would see him playing off the left and drifting inside. I always thought that was his best position for us and he rarely plays as the line leader for Brighton either. You have to give him license to roam and pick the ball up deep to run at people. He's no luxury player, though. He will graft for the team, he will do the ugly work; press, contest his duels and so on. His workrate is second to none in that respect. He's technically excellent, has brilliant vision, awareness, poise and balance, can slalom through non-existent gaps, draws fouls and makes things happen.
You will love him - now cough up!
