João Pedro Junqueira de Jesus (born 26 September 2001), also known as João Pedro, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion and the Brazil national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | João Pedro Junqueira de Jesus[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 26 September 2001[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Ribeirão Preto, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Brighton & Hove Albion | ||
| Number | 9 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2011–2019 | Fluminense | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2020 | Fluminense | 29 | (5) |
| 2020–2023 | Watford | 104 | (23) |
| 2023– | Brighton & Hove Albion | 37 | (13) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2023– | Brazil U23 | 1 | (0) |
| 2023– | Brazil | 2 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:53, 23 November 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10 September 2024 | |||
Early and personal life
editJoão Pedro was born in Ribeirão Preto to parents Flavia Junqueira and José João de Jesus, more commonly known as Chicão, a professional footballer for Botafogo. Chicão was jailed for sixteen years in 2002, serving eight, for being an accessory to murder. By the time of Chicão's imprisonment, he and Junqueira had separated.[3]
Club career
editFluminense
editJoão Pedro joined the youth system of Fluminense, and his mother moved with him to Rio de Janeiro. As he moved through the club's academy, he switched from being a defensive midfielder to an attacking midfielder, and then a striker.[3] On 19 October 2018, before he had even made his senior debut, EFL Championship club Watford reached an agreement on a deal to sign João Pedro in January 2020 on a five-year contract.[4] On 28 March 2019, João Pedro made his senior debut for Fluminense as a stoppage-time substitute in a 2–1 loss to arch-rivals Flamengo in the Campeonato Carioca.[5] A month later on 29 April, he made his league debut as a late substitute in the 1–0 loss to Goiás.[6] He then proceeded to fire seven goals in his next four games, including a hat trick in a 4–1 Copa Sudamericana victory against Atlético Nacional.[7]
Watford
editOn 30 October 2019, it was announced that he had received his UK work permit and would sign for Watford in January 2020.[8] Initially delayed by the world-wide Covid shutdowns, Pedro scored his first goal for Watford in a 1–0 win over Luton Town on 26 September 2020, his 19th birthday.[9] On 16 October 2020, He scored a long-range goal in a win over Derby County.
Pedro scored his first Premier League goal against Manchester United on 20 November 2021. He dedicated the goal to his late stepfather, Carlos Junior. On 15 January 2022, he scored the equalizer against Newcastle United in the 88th minute. The match ended in a 1–1 draw.[10]
Brighton & Hove Albion
editOn 5 May 2023, Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion confirmed the acquisition of Pedro from Watford, with the transfer fee undisclosed,[11] but reported to be in the region of a club-record £30 million fee.[12] He made his debut in the opening game of the season on 12 August, starting the match and later scoring from the spot in the 4–1 home win over Premier League newcomers Luton Town.[13] Pedro scored Brighton's first ever European goals on 21 September, netting two from the spot in the eventual 3–2 home Europa League loss against Greek champions AEK Athens.[14] Pedro finished the Europa League group stage as the outright top scorer with six goals in six games, including a late winner in the final match, as Brighton topped their group to qualify for the last 16.[15]
On 24 August 2024, Pedro scored the winning goal in stoppage time of a 2–1 victory over Manchester United.[16]
International career
editOn 19 August 2023, Pedro was called up for the Brazil Olympic football team.[17] Pedro would make his Brazil debut as an 84th minute substitute in a 1–0 loss against Morocco.
Three months later on 6 November, Pedro was called up to the Brazil senior team for the first time.[18] On 16 November, Pedro would make his debut for the Seleção after coming on as a substitute for the injured Vinícius Júnior at the 27th-minute mark in a 2–1 loss to Colombia.[19]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played 23 November 2024[20]
| Club | Season | League | State league[a] | National cup[b] | League cup[c] | Continental | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Fluminense | 2019 | Série A | 25 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 2 | — | 4[d] | 3 | 37 | 10 | |
| Watford | 2019–20 | Premier League | 3 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Championship | 38 | 9 | — | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 40 | 9 | |||
| 2021–22 | Premier League | 28 | 3 | — | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 29 | 4 | |||
| 2022–23 | Championship | 35 | 11 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 35 | 11 | |||
| Total | 104 | 23 | — | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 109 | 24 | ||||
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 2023–24 | Premier League | 31 | 9 | — | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 6[e] | 6 | 40 | 20 | |
| 2024–25 | Premier League | 6 | 4 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 4 | |||
| Total | 37 | 13 | — | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 46 | 24 | |||
| Career total | 167 | 40 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 9 | 192 | 58 | ||
- ^ Includes Campeonato Carioca
- ^ Includes Copa do Brasil, FA Cup
- ^ Includes EFL Cup
- ^ Appearances in Copa Sudamericana
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
International
edit- As of match played 10 September 2024
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 2023 | 1 | 0 |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 2 | 0 | |
References
edit- ^ "2023/24 Premier League squads".
- ^ a b "João Pedro". Premier League. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
- ^ a b "The Joao Pedro story: Tragedy, tears and a special talent". The Athletic. 29 November 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
- ^ "Official: Hornets Agree Pedro Signing". Watford. 19 October 2018. Archived from the original on 24 May 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
- ^ "FLUMINENSE 1 - 2 FLAMENGO". int.soccerway.com. 28 March 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
- ^ "FLUMINENSE VS. GOIÁS 0 - 1". int.soccerway.com. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
- ^ "Joao Pedro: The Watford-bound striker on a hot streak for Fluminense". Sky Sports. 29 May 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
- ^ "Watford teenager Joao Pedro granted work permit year after signing". BBC Sport. 29 October 2019.
- ^ "Watford 1–0 Luton". BBC. 26 September 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
- ^ "Watford snatch late draw at Newcastle". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- ^ "Albion agree Joao Pedro deal". Brighton & Hove Albion. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
- ^ "Joao Pedro: Brighton agree to sign Watford forward for club record fee". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
- ^ "Subs seal impressive win for Albion". Brighton & Hove Albion. 12 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
- ^ "Joao is spot on but Albion lose Europa League opener". Brighton & Hove Albion. 21 September 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
- ^ "Pedro winner puts Brighton into Europa League last 16". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
- ^ "Brighton & Hove Albion 2–1 Manchester United". BBC Sport. 24 August 2024. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
- ^ "Joao Pedro confirmed in latest Brazil under-23s squad". The Argus. 19 August 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
- ^ "Endrick and Several Others Called Up for First Time for Brazil Senior Team". Reuters. 6 November 2023. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
- ^ "Colombia 2–1 Brazil (November 16, 2023)". ESPN. 16 November 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
- ^ João Pedro at Soccerway. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
External links
edit- João Pedro at Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.
- João Pedro at Premier League
- João Pedro at L'Équipe Football (in French)
- João Pedro at Soccerbase
- João Pedro at Soccerway
- João Pedro at WorldFootball.net
- João Pedro at AS.com (in Spanish)
- João Pedro – UEFA competition record (archive)
