Michael Owen has stated that he is a "big fan" of João Pedro and believes Manchester United should have signed the striker before he joined Chelsea.

Michael Owen has expressed his great admiration for João Pedro, believing that Manchester United should have signed the "outstanding" striker before he joined Chelsea.

Pedro joined Chelsea from Brighton for £60 million 12 months ago, and the 24-year-old has since had an impressive debut season despite the team struggling.

The versatile player quickly surpassed fellow summer signing Delap to become The Blues' main striker, scoring 20 goals across all competitions.

Notably, his omission from Brazil's World Cup squad still appears to be affecting him. Under new manager Xabi Alonso, he will hope for a stronger start to the new season, beginning with a match against city rivals Fulham in the coming week.

Chelsea finished in tenth place last season, and without European football this season to distract them, this gives Alonso the advantage of focusing on the league in the weeks and months ahead.

Owen believes this could bring significant benefits to Alonso's team. He predicts Chelsea will finish in second place in the Premier League this season, behind defending champions Arsenal.

When asked on the podcast "The Good, The Bad & The Football" who is most likely to challenge Arsenal, Owen said: "Chelsea. It might be a bold statement, but they have absolutely no European football, and you can see how important European football has been in recent years. For Manchester United, that was crucial last season."

Owen has high expectations for Chelsea under new manager Alonso (Image: The Good, The Bad & The Football)

Pedro scored 20 goals for Chelsea last season (Image: Getty)

"The manager [Xabi Alonso] did the same thing at a club [Bayer Leverkusen] that wasn't expected to succeed in Germany, and he will bring plenty of changes, and they've made some good signings."

Owen has high hopes for Chelsea's star-studded attack and believes Manchester United made a mistake by not signing Pedro sooner.

The former England, Manchester United and Liverpool striker explained: "I'm a huge fan of João Pedro; I think he's absolutely outstanding. Manchester United should have bought him four years ago when he was still at Watford."

"Manchester United hasn't had a pure striker for years, and I thought at the time, 'That's João Pedro,' I absolutely loved him."

"He, Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer form a attacking trio... while signing Danny Welbeck and Holdane is clearly a bit odd."

Owen acknowledged there are still some "questions" about goalkeeper Robert Sánchez, but he feels Chelsea under Alonso in their first year could "explode" and have a "big season."

He continued: "There's a big question mark over the goalkeeper position, as I've heard."

"But I just feel this team could explode. They don't have the distraction of European football, and they have some good players."

"I think Chelsea will have a strong season."

Earlier this month, reports from Brazil suggested Arsenal made a surprise offer for Pedro, attempting to bring the striker from West London to North London before the new season.

The Gunners were reportedly prepared to pay €100 million (£86 million) for Pedro, but Chelsea quickly rejected their rival's offer.

Pedro, considered one of Chelsea's "unsellable" players, has also previously attracted strong interest from Barcelona.

The former Fluminense, Watford and Brighton player has seven years remaining on his current contract with Chelsea.

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