Chelsea have reached a £54m agreement with Wolves for the transfer of the Portuguese winger, who was also a target for Tottenham. Neto delivered an outstanding performance for Wolves in the last season, netting three goals and providing 11 assists despite an injury-riddled campaign that sidelined him for three months due to two separate hamstring injuries.
The Portuguese winger, who has been capped 10 times by his country and was named in their Euro 2024 squad, is set to join Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke, Mykhailo Mudryk and Raheem Sterling as wide options ahead of the new season.
Neto would become Chelsea’s ninth summer signing – with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Filip Jorgensen, Omari Kellyman, Aaron Anselmino, Renato Veiga, Caleb Wiley, Marc Guiu and Tosin Adarabioyo adding to Enzo Maresca’s squad for the new season.
The Blues are also set to sign Atletico Madrid striker Samu Omo Rodion in a £34.5m deal, with midfielder Conor Gallagher set to move in the opposite direction in a separate £36m transfer.
If Maresca is going to build his Chelsea team in a similar Mould to Pep Guardiola at Man City and Mikel Arteta at Arsenal, then Neto is a must-buy.
Both Guardiola and Arteta rely on “one-on-one explorers” down the flanks – Bukayo Saka, Jeremy Doku, Gabriel Martinelli and Jack Grealish Spring to mind – and even over an injury-hit spell at Wolves, Neto has proven to be one of the best-attacking wingers in the Premier League in individual running battles.
Last season, Gary O’Neil took the shackles off Neto. “Don’t turn it down, let’s go every single time. Don’t care if you lose it, test him. Let’s go,” said O’Neil last season when asked about his individual instructions to the Portuguese winger. And Neto obliged.
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