Chelsea winger Pedro Neto could already be “regretting” his move to Stamford Bridge over the summer, according to Sky Sports icon Jeff Stelling.
The Portugal international signed for the Blues from fellow Premier League side Wolves for £56m in the summer transfer window.
Neto has only made two starts in their five Premier League matches so far this season with the 24-year-old providing one assist and no goals.
He has featured six times overall in all competitions but former Sky Sports presenter Stelling wonders whether Neto is already “regretting” his move to Chelsea.
Stelling said on talkSPORT (via the Chelsea Chronicle): “I mentioned Pedro Neto earlier. I just wonder if he is regretting in any way shape or form his move because he can’t get a start at Chelsea.
“You do want to see him on the football pitch because he has had so many injuries over the years, he has played so little football.”
Chelsea have spent over £1billion since a Todd Boehly-led takeover of the Premier League club in May 2022 with some new signings like Cole Palmer proving to be a big hit.
However, the west London outfit have had more misses than hits and Glen Johnson reckons Chelsea will make a “big loss” on Mykhaylo Mudryk when they sell him.
When asked whether Mudryk has what it takes to be successful at Stamford Bridge, Johnson told Betfred: “We’re yet to see it. We’ve seen flashes of his talent and there’ve been times when he’s looked unstoppable, but we haven’t seen it often.
“At the moment, it doesn’t look like he’s cut out for the Premier League because we would have seen it by now if he was. Maybe his time is up.
“I’ve been supportive of him previously, but there’s reasons why the managers he’s had don’t trust him and when he’s had the opportunities to play, we’ve not seen enough from him.
“Chelsea bought him for a lot of money, so they’re either going to have to stick with him or take a big loss on him.”
MORE ON CHELSEA FROM F365
👉 Enzo Maresca set to bring frozen out Chelsea man back into the picture at Stamford Bridge
👉 From Bernardo to Klopp via Wenger and Jose: Top 10 post-match ‘proper football’ cryarsings
👉 ‘Fantastic’ Chelsea man compared to club legend as Mikel makes captaincy prediction
The Blues have won their last three matches in all competitions under Enzo Maresca and Jamie Carragher thinks their latest form has quietened the off-field talk.
Carragher said on The Overlap: “Chelsea’s strong results have calmed the off-the-field talk because it just felt like Chelsea were a topic every time we were on TV. [Enzo] Maresca’s spoke quite well in the press conferences at times – he’s had difficult situations with Raheem Sterling, with how many players they had and who is going to play in each position.
“There was a game recently, against Bournemouth – Chelsea were lucky to win it – but the players they were bringing on as sub, they were players who should be starting. I don’t know if further down the line that is going to be a problem, because that quality of player on the bench, can be a problem. [João] Félix, [Pedro] Neto came on, you’re thinking, ‘Wow’.”
But fellow pundit Paul Scholes still thinks they need a new goalkeeper and centre-forward, he added: “You look at Chelsea’s squad, there’s a lot of talent there. A little bit worried about the centre-forwards, the keeper a little bit – but you won’t be able to judge Chelsea until November, December – then we’ll get a better idea.”
