Why Joao Pedro can play at Club World Cup for Chelsea as Jamie Gittens 'banned' due to strict FIFA rule

Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign striker Joao Pedro from Premier League rivals Brighton & Hove Albion for a reported fee of £55 million.

The Blues have made regular signings from Brighton in recent years and the addition of Pedro has apparently been secured in the face of stiff competition from fellow Champions League qualifiers Newcastle United.

Brazilian striker Pedro, 23, scored 19 goals in two Premier League seasons for the Seagulls. He joined the south coast club from Watford in 2023.

Having spent nearly a decade on the books of Rio de Janeiro giants Fluminense, Pedro now seems certain to officially join Chelsea in time to face Brazilian opposition in the quarter-finals of Gianni Infantino's Club World Cup in Philadelphia on Friday.

Players registered before Thursday, July 3 will be eligible to join their new teammates at the Club World Cup and will be available to play despite the competition being beyond its halfway point.

That being the case, Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca should have Pedro to call upon against Palmeiras by the banks of the Delaware.

Liam Delap has started up front in Chelsea's last three Club World Cup matches and has scored once and assisted once since joining the West London club from Ipswich Town, so Pedro is likely to be eased into the fold regardless of competition rules.

The situation is rather different for Jamie Gittens, who is expected to undergo a medical ahead of his own switch to Chelsea for a similar transfer fee.

Gittens, who represented Chelsea and Manchester City at youth level before making his senior debut for Borussia Dortmund in 2022, is set to return to Stamford Bridge but is not eligible to play for the Blues at the Club World Cup.

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca (Image: Getty)

The Berkshire-born winger can't join Chelsea's squad at the competition even if a deal is done before Thursday because he's already there with Dortmund and is cup-tied per FIFA's tournament rules.

He came off the bench once in the group stage as Dortmund topped Group F, making a late cameo against Fluminense, Pedro's former club, and had already been rendered unavailable for another club simply by virtue of being included on Niko Kovac's final Club World Cup squad list.

If everything goes to plan, Pedro and Gittens will both be available when Chelsea welcome Crystal Palace on the first Sunday of the 2025-26 Premier League season.