This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Liverpool are eyeing a move for Watford’s Joao Pedro this summer, according to the Daily Mail.

The Brazilian played 28 times in the Premier League last season for the Hornets and scored three times as the club were relegated back to the Championship.

Here we ask our FLW writers their verdict on this potential move… 

Marcus Ally

This one has come out of nowhere. 

Pedro showed glimpses of his quality in the Premier League this season but looked far more promising in the Championship in 2021/22. 

The 20-year-old has three years remaining on his contract at Vicarage Road, therefore it feels unlikely that the Hornets would shell out the money required to sign him.

Even with Sadio Mane heading off, the Reds will be looking to bring in a more ready-made replacement. 

Pedro has the potential to be a Premier League regular in the future, but with Fabio Carvalho making the move to Anfield it would be strange timing. 

Considering the fee that would be involved, the Reds should focus their funding elsewhere and wait in the wings monitoring Pedro’s development, for at least another season.

Declan Harte

Liverpool have a penchant for signing from recently relegated Premier League sides, Andy Robertson being the best example.

Pedro could join the likes of Xherdan Shaqiri and Danny Ings as solid squad players who arrived at a cut price from a relegated side.

 

 

It is unlikely the Brazilian will become anything more than a rotation option in Jurgen Klopp’s team, but the allure of fighting for major honours should more than make up for a lack of game time.

This would be a great opportunity for Pedro, but it would be a big blow to Watford’s chances next season to lose such an exciting attacking player.

Carla Devine

Joao Pedro is a player with plenty of promise and following Watford’s relegation to the Championship you can see that a step back up to the Premier League could be highly beneficial for his development.

He hasn’t done as well as he would’ve hoped this season scoring just three goals and contributing an assist in 28 appearances for Watford but it’s worth remembering he was part of a struggling team.

He definitely seems as though he’s the type of player that could be well developed at Anfield and come up as a great player in a few years but it’s unlikely we’d see him have an impact on the first team as it stands.

It would still be a good signing with a long term vision but whether the forward would prefer to get regular first team game time at the moment will have to be seen.