The Stamford Bridge club were locked in talks late yesterday evening with Barcelona over a deal for the 28-year-old Spain striker, who is unsettled at the Nou Camp, as manager Jose Mourinho steps up his hunt for a new striker.
United chief executive Ed Woodward had flown to Spain on Monday to try to complete a deal - but Chelsea may now have stolen a march on their Premier League rivals.
Pedro came on to score the winner for Barca in the UEFA Super Cup final last week against Sevilla, but was furious that he was not in manager Luis Enrique's starting line-up with Neymar out injured.
"We still have a strong squad. We just need things to click. We are getting our sharpness back. Training has been competitive and strong.
"A couple of things are not quite going our way right now but this is no time to start feeling sorry for ourselves. We have to pick ourselves up quickly, improve and pick up points."
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