Xabi Alonso is happy that João Pedro has renewed his contract with Chelsea.

Brazilian striker João Pedro, 24, has renewed his contract with Premier League giants Chelsea. Manager Xabi Alonso said he was very happy that João Pedro renewed his contract with the club and praised the star as an excellent leader and a great person.

In the 2025/26 Premier League season, João Pedro scored 15 goals and provided 5 assists for Chelsea, while also scoring 3 goals in the Champions League.

Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso said, "We speak with João Pedro often because he is not only an outstanding player but also a very good person. He has a very strong personal charisma within the team. I think he has shown very obvious progress every day and in every game, both in becoming a top player and in developing into a leader."

“He has clear goals and is eager to have a great season and score goals. But at the same time, he is also very focused on helping the team. I am very happy about João Pedro’s contract extension; I am very impressed with his personality. Now, we need to help him achieve his goals.”

In addition, the final match of the first round of the 2026/27 Premier League season will take place, with Chelsea traveling to Craven Cottage to challenge Fulham, managed by new manager Arbeloa.

When discussing the team's key midfielder, Palmer, Xabi Alonso said, "Palmer is eager to enjoy football. He wants to stay healthy, to be in good physical condition, and to build good chemistry with his teammates."

“As I said before, if we can see Palmer like this, help him find his form, and help him feel that fluidity in the game and establish good connections with his teammates, then I believe his level will be very high and he will have a great season.”

Xabi Alonso said, "I think sometimes players need to go through tough injuries or difficult moments to learn from them."

"Palmer has gone through a tough period with injuries, and he is now training very hard to avoid those symptoms from happening again. He has been working very hard from day one to try to prevent these problems from happening again."

Image source: Internet