Pedro Neto: Chelsea’s misunderstood winger
Maresca scored in a 1-1 draw at Manchester City after leaving Chelsea and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville singled out Neto for criticism.
“It disappointed me like you wouldn’t believe,” Neville said. “He’s close to being an Eden Hazard, but he’ll never be an Eden Hazard because he doesn’t have that killer instinct.”
Neto scored just 14 goals in 135 appearances for Wolves before his £54million move in August 2024, averaging one goal every 9.6 games. He scored 19 goals in 89 appearances for Chelsea, averaging one every 4.7.
These figures alone underline why it is always unrealistic to expect him to be another Hazard, scoring 110 goals in 352 Chelsea appearances.
Neto has just one assist and no goals in his last 12 league games, but he has four goals and two assists in domestic cup matches – although three of those games have been against lower league opposition – to paint a more positive picture.
The 25-year-old is attempting fewer shots in the league this season (1.7 per 90 minutes compared to 2.3 in 2024-25) but is creating better quality chances, averaging 0.11 goals per shot compared to 0.06. This change explains why the conversion rate nearly doubled from 6.8% to 13.5%.
Among players at the current top six clubs, in terms of efficiency, Leandro Trossard, Bryan Mbeumo, Mohamed Salah, Morgan Rogers and Jeremy Doku rank higher in non-penalty goals per 90 minutes.
However, Neto is a different type of striker; only 7% of his touches land in the opposition penalty area; which is less than other players above him.
His field of success is carrying the ball, and he attributes this to following his father and uncles in the sport of roller hockey in his childhood. Among the Premier League’s top six clubs, only Doku is ranked higher in terms of transfers. Neto also ranks second behind Mbeumo in 90-minute sprints.
One of Neto’s remarkable performances came in the Club World Cup final against Paris St-Germain, which won 3-0, by man-marking full-back Achraf Hakimi.
Another was the night when Maresca surprised Barcelona boss Hansi Flick by appointing Neto as a forward, allowing the Spanish team to take advantage of their extremely high line with his pace.
Neto, who is most comfortable on the right wing, has played as a striker, left wing, wing-back and number 10 for Chelsea this season.
These “sacrifices” for the team, in Rosenior’s words, make Neto more comparable to Willian than Hazard, as he looks for parallels with Chelsea’s recent history.
As well as covering his ears and “stop talking” celebrations, Neto was also seen arguing with Tottenham fans during Chelsea’s 1-0 away win in November.
In an interview last season, Neto expressed his celebrations as follows: “When you win, you are the best, when you lose, you are the worst.”
Neto doesn’t seem to like the criticism leveled at him, but that hasn’t stopped him from “putting in the work”, as he puts it, helping Chelsea and steadily improving his own game.
