João Pedro Takes Chelsea's No.9 Shirt: A New Challenge

Chelsea have locked in their squad numbers for the new season, and one decision jumps straight off the page: João Pedro has taken the No.9 shirt.

Yes, that No.9 shirt.

João Pedro walks into the storm

At most clubs, the No.9 is a prize. At Chelsea, it has become a warning label. The list of high-profile strikers who have worn it and stumbled is long and expensive.

• Fernando Torres.
• Álvaro Morata.
• Romelu Lukaku.
• Radamel Falcao.
• Gonzalo Higuaín.
• Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
• Mateja Kežman.
• Franco Di Santo.
• Tony Cascarino.
• Chris Sutton.

Hernán Crespo escaped complete disaster, but his spell never hit the heights it promised. Tammy Abraham came closest to breaking the pattern, yet even his time carried a sense of what might have been. Liam Delap’s brief stint with the number only deepened the sense of a shirt that weighs more than it should.

The numbers behind the superstition are brutal. Since Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink smashed 23 league goals in 2001-02 — 29 in all competitions — no Chelsea No.9 has come close to that standard. Abraham’s 15 league goals in 2019-20 stand as the best return in the role since then.

Torres did manage 22 goals in all competitions in 2012-13, but it took him 64 appearances and a long Europa League run to get there. In the league that season, he scored just eight.

So João Pedro has chosen to walk straight into the heart of a narrative that has swallowed bigger names and bigger reputations. Belief? Bravery? Tempting fate? Whatever the motivation, he now carries a number that comes with history, expectation, and a question: can he finally break the curse, or does it tighten again?

Fofana steps into No.3

The other standout change is at the back. Wesley Fofana has moved into the No.3 shirt, previously worn by Marc Cucurella. It is a more traditional defender’s number and a clear signal of his status in the squad when fit.

Fofana’s old No.29 does not stay vacant for long. New signing Pep Chavarría takes it, sliding straight into a number that has had a quieter, less dramatic life at Stamford Bridge compared to that infamous nine.

Dário Essugo and Tosin Adarabioyo have also picked up fresh numbers as they settle into the group, small but telling details in how the dressing room reshapes itself before a ball is kicked.

Final tweaks still to come

Chelsea have published the full list, with this season’s changes marked out against last year’s allocations. The picture is close to complete, but not quite fixed. There are still more than ten days left in the transfer window, and with a 25-man registration limit, every incoming or outgoing move could shuffle the pack again.

For now, though, one image lingers: a new season, a new striker, and that No.9 shirt waiting to be either redeemed or remembered for all the wrong reasons yet again.