João Pedro Takes on Chelsea's No.9 Shirt: A Bold Move
Chelsea have locked in their squad numbers for the new season, and buried in the usual churn of tweaks and fresh arrivals is one decision that jumps off the page.
João Pedro has taken the No.9.
Not just any nine. The Chelsea No.9. The shirt that has chewed up and spat out some of the biggest names of the modern era.
João Pedro walks into the fire
On paper, it makes sense. He’s the centre-forward, the marquee attacker, the man expected to lead the line as Chelsea try to drag themselves back among the elite. Strikers wear nine. That’s the job.
But at Stamford Bridge, that digit comes with baggage.
Fernando Torres wore it. Álvaro Morata wore it. Romelu Lukaku, too. Radamel Falcao, Gonzalo Higuaín, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mateja Kežman, Franco Di Santo, Tony Cascarino, Chris Sutton. All arrived with reputations, some with enormous transfer fees, most with heavy expectation. None truly owned the shirt.
Hernán Crespo had moments but never the sustained dominance his talent promised. Tammy Abraham came closest to breaking the spell, hitting 15 league goals in 2019-20, yet even that felt like a platform never fully built on. Liam Delap barely had time to leave an imprint before the number became someone else’s problem again.
You have to go all the way back to 2001-02 for the last time a Chelsea No.9 really terrorised the Premier League. Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink smashed in 23 league goals that season, 29 in all competitions, and set a standard no successor has matched.
Since then? Near misses, false dawns and long, frustrated nights.
Torres did rack up 22 goals in all competitions in 2012-13, but it took him 64 appearances and a deep Europa League run to get there. Only eight of those goals came in the league. For a club of Chelsea’s size, that’s not what the No.9 is supposed to represent.
So João Pedro’s choice is bold. Maybe brave. Maybe reckless. He’s not just taking a number; he’s taking on a story that has been running for more than two decades.
If he breaks it, he doesn’t just score goals. He rewrites a piece of Chelsea folklore.
Fofana steps into No.3, new faces slot in
Away from the drama around the nine, there are quieter, more logical shifts across the squad list.
Wesley Fofana has moved into Marc Cucurella’s old No.3 shirt, a more traditional defender’s number and one that signals his status in the back line when fit. His previous No.29 now belongs to new signing Pep Chavarría, who steps into a shirt that has just vacated a prominent role.
Dário Essugo and Tosin Adarabioyo have also been handed fresh numbers as they settle into the group, small details that still matter in a dressing room hierarchy where status, expectation and identity are all stitched into the back of the shirt.
The club has released the full list, and while it feels like a snapshot of the squad that will start the campaign, it’s not carved in stone. There are still more than ten days left in the transfer window, and Chelsea can only register 25 players.
Deals will be done. Names will move in and out. Some numbers may yet change hands.
But one thing is fixed now.
When the season kicks off and the cameras pan across the Chelsea XI, João Pedro will walk out wearing No.9.
History says that shirt is cursed. The new season will reveal whether he’s the one who finally proves it isn’t.
