Chelsea striker Joao Pedro has been handed the number nine shirt this season, a jersey many fans consider "cursed" after a string of high-profile forwards struggled while wearing it. He marked the switch by scoring within 31 seconds of Xabi Alonso's first game in charge, a 3-2 win at Fulham, and has also signed improved terms on a contract running until 2034, suggesting the Brazilian could finally end Chelsea's search for a reliable focal point up front.

No Chelsea number nine has been consistently prolific since Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink left in 2004, with big-money signings such as Romelu Lukaku, Alvaro Morata, Gonzalo Higuain, Radamel Falcao, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and, most recently, Liam Delap all enduring difficult spells in the shirt. Joao Pedro, 24, joined from Brighton last summer for £55m plus up to £5m in add-ons and scored 20 goals in all competitions last season, the first Chelsea striker to hit that mark since Diego Costa nine years earlier. He has dismissed talk of a curse, insisting numbers don't create pressure, while those close to him point to a tough upbringing in Brazil, including his father's imprisonment and early homesickness after moving to Fluminense, as evidence he can handle the weight of expectation.