‘PEDRO WILL CRACK IT... GIVEN TIME’
BY
NEIL MOXLEY
CLAUDIO RANIERI says Joao Pedro is still a ‘work in progress’ and will only be fully unleashed once he’s ready to make his mark.
The 20-year-old Brazilian scored his first Premier League goal in Watford’s 4-1 win over Manchester United last weekend.
But Hornets boss Ranieri insists he still needs to tweak aspects of the youngster’s performance before giving him a run of games from the start.
Pedro (below) has had just one start this season, and his goalscoring cameo against United was the sixth time he was sprung from the bench this term.
Ranieri suggested he will have to make do with a place among the subs once again when Watford visit the Italian’s former club Leicester today.
The Hornets boss said: “I believe a lot about this player.
I believe he could be very crack – in football ‘crack’ means a very high level. He’s a very good professional, but I have to choose and I have to understand which is his best position.
“Now he wants to do everything, and I speak a lot with him because I
believe in this young player. I don’t know if he’s ready to play but, sooner or later, he can start from the beginning.
“Now he’s a very dangerous option when he starts from the bench but, sooner or later he will start from the beginning.
“Behind the strikers, I think in the 4-3-3, he could play beside as an attacking midfielder. Now I’m speaking with him about when we lose the ball, which is the best position, because he wants to go around the pitch. He needs to be dedicated to a position.”
Ranieri is sure to be given a hero’s welcome by the Leicester fans when he returns to the club where he completed a football miracle by winning the title five years ago.
The 70-year-old boss feels his relationship with Watford has similarities.
Ranieri added: “There is a very good feeling also here in Watford. I told the chairman I feel as at home, with the training ground, the club, the fans. This makes me feel good.”