Wolves warn Chelsea about Pedro Neto as winger speaks out on joining Blues

Pedro Neto has expressed his excitement at joining Chelsea, saying that he has worked tirelessly throughout his career to reach the heights of Stamford Bridge after sealing a £54million switch. But Wolves mentioned Neto’s injury woes as they waved goodbye to the player.

The Portuguese winger, who has been a standout performer for the Midlands club over the past five years, clinched both the Players’ Player of the Season and Supporters’ Player of the Season awards in 2021. He has committed to a seven-year contract with the Blues.

Neto is poised to make his Chelsea debut in the upcoming Premier League clash against Manchester City next Saturday. His transfer marks him as Chelsea’s ninth acquisition of the summer window and their priciest addition.

Having previously enjoyed stints with Braga and Lazio, where he triumphed in the Coppa Italia in 2019, Neto views his move to Chelsea as a significant career milestone.

“I feel really grateful to have joined this club,” Neto said after his unveiling on Sunday. “I have worked really hard in my career to be here and I’m looking forward to getting on the pitch with this shirt.”

Chelsea announced that Neto will soon join Enzo Maresca’s squad for training. With only one pre-season victory under their belt before Sunday’s encounter with Inter Milan, Neto’s arrival comes as a timely enhancement for the team.

Maresca said of Neto after the draw with Inter: “I’m very excited, he can offer many things. He can play on the right side, he can play on the left side, he’s very good one-on-one.

“It is one more option we have because there will be many, many games in the season, so we need a big squad.”

But his arrival at Chelsea came with a warning from Wolves with sporting director Matt Hobbs acknowledging the forward’s unfortunate injury struggles. “Everyone knows the player Pedro is he’s a world class winger who has been so unlucky with injuries,” he said.

“We’ll miss him on the pitch obviously, but also around the training ground with his energy and the relationship he had with so many people.

“The deal is one that works for us and Pedro, but by no means does it make it any easier. The reason we get players like Pedro is because this is our model and not everyone will love that. For the club, it’s the right deal at the right time.

“It’s hard when it’s 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 timing and the right deal, so from that perspective, the football club are happy.”

Wolves’ sporting director also mentioned ongoing efforts to find a replacement forward. “We’ve been working on options and on targets and that work keeps going,” he added.

“Me and Gary [O’Neil] have sat down several times since, but we were sitting down beforehand and talking about it because I think we thought there was a good chance this would happen this summer.”