One name that’s been regularly mentioned in Newcastle United’s summer search for a new right-winger is Pedro Neto, who has today been strongly linked with a surprise move to Chelsea.
Many hold fair concerns over his injury record after two separate hamstring issues last season, but we’ve seen The Telegraph’s John Percy, Mark Douglas at the i and The Mail’s Craig Hope all name the Wolves star as a player of genuine interest.
With that in mind, it’s been interesting to see what Wolves boss Gary O’Neil has had to say when asked about the winger’s future. “If a huge offer comes from a big club, no one will stand in Pedro’s way,” O’Neil told the Express & Star when asked if he could depart in the final few weeks of the summer window.
Whether Newcastle commit to a “huge offer” remains up for debate, but we’ll have to act quickly if we really are keen on the Portuguese winger, with reports on Friday afternoon suggesting Chelsea are closing in.
As a 24-year-old, left-footed right-winger with electric pace, creativity, Premier League experience and the ability to play down both flanks, there’s a lot to like. He ticks a lot of boxes if the club have belief he can put last season’s injury woes behind him.
Despite his injury issues, he was involved in 14 goals (three goals and 11 assists) in 24 appearances last season and has the talent to take his game to the next level. The question is, do Newcastle have the funds (if we sign Marc Guehi) or appetite to pay his reported £50-60m price tag and could Chelsea ‘beat’ us to a deal?
🚨🔵 Chelsea have already reached an agreement with Pedro Neto’s agent Jorge Mendes.
No issues on salary, club to club talks ongoing to get the deal done as initial request is around £60m.
He’s top of the list for new winger. 🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/5DDijDhkdJ
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 9, 2024
Good player but had some bad injuries I don’t think we’ll splash out 50m or 60m on another player of we get Guehi but you never know.
Anyway if he signs for Chelsea that opens the door for us to buy Madueke who I’d be more than happy with.
Porkpie(Quote)
I would be happy for NUFC to pay 40 million towards Chelsea’s transfer costs by buying Noni Madueke off them. The last thing Newcastle need is an injury prone player.
1lostandfound(Quote)