Pedro Neto: Chelsea’s misunderstood winger

After Maresca left Chelsea, they drew 1-1 with Manchester City, and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville took aim at Neto.

“He frustrated me in a way you wouldn’t believe,” Neville said. “He is a short distance from being Eden Hazard, but he will never be Eden Hazard because he doesn’t have that killer instinct.”

Neto scored just 14 goals in 135 appearances for Wolves before his £54m move in August 2024 – an average of one goal every 9.6 matches. At Chelsea, he scored 19 goals in 89 matches, an average of one every 4.7.

These numbers alone underscore why it was unrealistic to expect him to be another Hazard, who scored 110 goals in 352 games for Chelsea.

Neto has only provided one assist and no goals in his last 12 league games, but he has scored four goals and two assists in four domestic cup matches – although three of those games were against lower-tier 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 getting chances of higher quality, averaging 0.11 expected goals per shot compared to 0.06. This shift explains why its conversion rate nearly doubled, from 6.8% to 13.5%.

In terms of productivity among players at the current top six clubs, Leandro Trossard, Brian Mbeumou, Mohamed Salah, Morgan Rogers and Jeremy Doku all rank highest in scoring non-penalty goals per 90 minutes.

But Neto is a different kind of striker, with only 7% of his touches coming inside the opposition penalty area – fewer than any player above him.

What he excels at is carrying the ball, something he attributes to following his father and uncles into hockey as a child. Of the top six clubs in the Premier League, only Doku ranks higher in carrying the ball. Neto is also second only to Mbeumo in sprints per 90 minutes.

One of Neto’s standout performances came against Paris Saint-Germain in a 3-0 Club World Cup final, when he marked full-back Achraf Hakimi.

The other night was the night in which Maresca surprised Barcelona coach Hansi Flick by deploying Neto as a striker, allowing him to exploit the Spanish team’s very high line with his speed.

Most comfortable on the right wing, Neto has been used as a striker, left winger, wing-back and number 10 for Chelsea this season.

Those “sacrifices” for the team, as Rosenior described it, make Neto more comparable to Willian than Hazard when looking for parallels from Chelsea’s recent past.

As well as sticking his fingers in his ears and doing ‘stop talking’ celebrations, Neto was also seen arguing with Tottenham fans during Chelsea’s 1-0 away win in November.

In an interview conducted with him last season, Neto talked about his celebrations, saying: “When you win, you are the best, and when you lose, you are the worst.”

Neto seems to simply hate the scrutiny he receives, but that has not stopped him, as he puts it, from “working” – helping Chelsea and steadily improving their level.