Joe McConnell
Chelsea have completed a £54m deal to sign Pedro Neto from Wolves.
The payments are split into an initial amount of £51.4 million plus £2.6 million in additional components., with the striker signing a seven-year contract. Neto was paraded at half-time at Stamford Bridge during Sunday’s pre-season friendly with Inter.
“I feel really grateful to have joined this club,” said the 24-year-old. “I have worked hard in my career to be here and I can’t wait to step out onto the pitch in this shirt.”
Pedro Neto was presented to Chelsea fans during half-time of the pre-season match against Inter
In a statement, Wolves said it was “the right deal at the right time” for the club and that work was underway “on options and targets” to replace Neto.
With three goals and 11 assists, Neto, who also attracted interest from Tottenham this summer, was in fine form for Wolves last season despite two separate hamstring injuries and a three-month absence.
The Portuguese winger, who has won 10 caps for his country and was named in the squad for Euro 2024, joins Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke, Mykhailo Mudryk and Raheem Sterling as full-backs ahead of the new season.
Pedro Neto has signed for Chelsea from Wolves
Neto is Chelsea’s tenth summer signing, with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Filip Jorgensen, Omari Kellyman, Aaron Anselmino, Renato Veiga, Caleb Wiley, Marc Guiu and Tosin Adarabioyo joining Enzo Maresca’s squad for the new season. A deal has also been done for Palmeiras teenager Estevao Willian, who won’t arrive until next summer.
The Blues are also ready to sign the Atletico Madrid striker Samu Omorodion in a £34.5m deal, with the midfielder Conor Gallagher set to move in the opposite direction in a separate £36m transfer.
Chelsea are also interested in Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley as a potential replacement for Gallagher.
Wolves’ statement read: “For the club, it’s the right deal at the right time. It’s tough when you’re dealing with someone who everyone has so much affinity for as a person, to look at it as a business, but football is a business and it was the right time and the right deal, so from that perspective, the football club is happy.
“We’re working on options and targets and that work continues. Gary and I have sat down a few times since then, but we sat down earlier and talked about it because I think we thought there was a good chance it would happen this summer.”
Why did Chelsea sign Neto?
Vscek’ Sam Blitz:
If Maresca intends to build his Chelsea team along the lines of Pep Guardiola at Manchester City and Mikel Arteta at Arsenal, then Neto was a must-buy.
Both Guardiola and Arteta rely on one-on-one scouts down the flanks (Bukayo Saka, Jeremy Doku, Gabriel Martinelli and Jack Grealish come to mind) and, even during an injury-plagued spell at Wolves, Neto has proven to be one of the Premier League’s most adept strikers in one-on-one running battles.
Last season, Gary O’Neil took the chains off Neto. “Don’t refuse, we go every single time. It doesn’t matter if you lose him, test him. We go,” O’Neil said last season when asked about his one-on-one instructions to the Portuguese winger.
And Neto obliged. The 24-year-old was constantly involved in one-on-one battles last season, but more importantly, there was also an end product. Only Kevin De Bruyne averaged more assists per 90 minutes than Neto, who has the luxury of being equally effective on both flanks.
With Mudryk, Madueke and Sterling also capable of being effective in one-on-one situations, Chelsea appear to have a number of wingers who can complement Maresca’s aggressive style of play.
Read Joe Shread’s full article and have your say on the Chelsea team here.
When does the summer transfer window open and close?
THE Summer Transfer Window 2024 will officially close on August 30 at 11pm (UK time) for the Premier League and 11.30pm (Scotland time).
The Premier League has moved up its Deadline Day to match other major leagues in Europe. The cut-off dates were set following discussions with leagues in England, Germany, Italy, Spain and France.
