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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Simon Collings

Claudio Rainieri hails Watford hero Joao Pedro as ‘one of the best young players in the Premier League’

Watford boss Claudio Ranieri has hailed Joao Pedro as “one of the best young players in the Premier League”.

Pedro has long been tipped for big things, ever since he burst onto the scene in Brazil and then signed for Watford in 2020.

The 20-year-old has begun to find his feet under Ranieri and he scored a late equaliser on Saturday to earn Watford a point at Newcastle.

Ranieri, speaking ahead of Tuesday’s crunch game with Burnley, has been impressed with the forward and believes he has the potential to be a real star in England.

“Look for me, Joao Pedro is a crack,” said Ranieri.

“He is young and he has to improve a lot.

“But he is also one of the best young players in the Premier League for me.

“For me, Joao is a very good player but we have to leave him to improve slowly, slowly, without putting pressure on him.

“He has to improve a lot, he has very good skills, but slowly, slowly please.”

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