Chelsea have signed Portuguese forward, Pedro Neto from Wolves for £54m.
Last season saw Neto enjoy his best campaign at Wolves with three goals and 10 assists in all competitions, as the Old Gold overcame early season difficulties to finish mid-table in Premier League and reach Quarter-Finals of the FA Cup.
Chelsea though have decided to swoop for the 24 year-old to boost their attacking options, with a total fee of £54m which consisted of £51.4m up front plus £2.6m in add-ons.
Neto has signed a six-year contract until June 2030 with an option to extend for a further year.
“I feel really grateful to have joined this club,’ commented Neto. “I have worked really hard in my career to be here and I’m looking forward to getting on the pitch with this shirt.”
Wolves’ Sporting Director, Matt Hobbs described Neto as “a world class winger” despite his injury record, who will be missed for his “energy” on and off the pitch.
Hobbs proceeded to explain the reasoning behind their sale of Neto and timing for the club.
“The reason we get players like Pedro is because this is our model and not everyone will love that, but we can take so much credit for the way we bring players in, the way we look after them, the love they develop for the football club, and the clubs they’re moving on to, for the fees they are.
“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.”
Hobbs also offered assurance that he and manager, Gary O’Neil are focused on “… working on options and on targets and that work keeps going.”
Neto began his senior career at Braga following two spells in their youth academy but only managed one goal in three appearances.
He then failed to score in five appearances on loan at Lazio in 2018-19 season, but was part of their Coppa Italia winning squad that campaign.
The forward signed for Wolves in August 2019 and has gone on to net 14 goals in 135 appearances.
Neto represents Portugal internationally and made his senior bow in November 2020 in a 7-0 friendly home win over Andorra with the opening goal on debut, which was the first of his ten international caps.
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