For the third year in a row, Chelsea’s player of the season is a coronation rather than a debate.Cole Palmer’s breakout brilliance in a fun but flawed Chelsea side made his case unassailable in 2024. Last year, Moises Caicedo’s tireless intensity and metronomic consistency at the heart of Enzo Maresca’s more structured team marked him out as an automatic selection for 2025.This year, one in which Chelsea and many of their key players have regressed in terms of form, fitness or both, there is simply no arguing against Joao Pedro.It is frightening to wonder where Chelsea’s attack would have been without Joao Pedro’s 20 goals across all competitions in 2025-26. Cole Palmer has barely made it to double figures (11) with the aid of five penalties. While Enzo Fernandez (15) and Pedro Neto (10) have produced at a respectable level, this is not a squad blessed with explosive attacking firepower.Liam Delap, the striker signed for £30million ($40m) from Ipswich Town to compete with and cover for the Brazilian last summer, has found the net just twice all season, the same as third-choice Marc Guiu. On the winger front, Alejandro Garnacho has been disappointing, and Jamie Gittens and Estevao have both been undermined by significant injury issues.But there is more to Joao Pedro’s case. Football is not just numbers on a page, it is also beauty on a pitch, and the Brazilian has produced plenty of that in 2025-26.Joao Pedro scoring his overhead kick against Forest (Alex Pantling/Getty Images)Consider the flick, the fake and the left-footed smash from well outside the penalty area against Napoli, one of two game-changing goals at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona at the climax of the league phase of the Champions League. Recall the sharp jink in behind and deft chip over Emiliano Martinez against Aston Villa, a goal that punctuated a superb hat-trick at Villa Park, the high-water mark of Liam Rosenior’s brief tenure.