We have been linked with Pedro Neto longer than I can remember. Although with the amount of beer I drink last night in the sunshine that is not very long!
There is no doubting the Portuguese mans natural ability, but he has always been someone who I have wanted us to stay away from signing.
Injury history
Spending £60m on a player that has missed 102 games injured in the last 4 seasons is a huge risk.
Neto is pretty much guaranteed 4 months out injured. And the types of injuries he has had – to his knees and hamstring – take their toll on the body. A player that relies a lot on explosive pace, you have to wonder what is left in the tank after 2 hamstring injuries last season.
Average output
Even before his knee injury towards the end of 2020/21, I struggled to get the hype with Neto.
Yes, he looked brilliant on the ball, full of trickery and pace, but his output was very poor.
His first two seasons in the Premier League saw him grab 8 goals and 9 assists. And since then he has added a further 3 goals and 10 assists. That gives him a grand total of 11 goals and 19 assists in 5 seasons (and 111 games) of Premier League football.
To compare, Bukayo Saka has scored 11 or more goals in each of the last 3 Premier League seasons, and a total of 41. Plus 27 assists to throw in.
For those that will now say “but Neto has been injured”. That is part of the point – why go for someone who is so injury prone? And that statement is nul and void when you consider Saka has played 111 Premier League games in 3 years; the same as Neto in 5.
So in the same amount of games, Saka has 30 more goals and 8 more assists.
Neto’s statistics are also vastly inferior to Gabriel Martinelli. The Brazilian had a tough time of it last campaign, scoring just 6 goals. That was more than Neto has ever scored in a single season in his career.
And it is easy to forget that Pedro Neto is older than both Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli! Can we really be talking about a 24-year-olds potential and what he “might do if he stayed fit”.
Final thoughts
Had we signed Neto, he would have been a back up winger for Saka and Martinelli.
£60m for a back up dancer is huge money, especially when you consider his injury record. There are simply more suitable players out there, who cost less, and will not spend 40% of the season out injured.
Neto joins Chelsea’s bloated squad, and I for one will not lose any sleep over it!
Keenos
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 
With Neto off to Chelsea, Nketiah to Marseille and Dani Olmo further bankrupting Barca…..can see the door opening for Nico Williams to arrive 🤞🤞🤞
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Personally, I doubt if Arsenal can sign Nico Williams. Real Betis have no intention of selling him. The player is also settled in Betis. If he is to leave Betis, expect him to join Barca to be part of their contingent of young Spanish players (say: Yamal, Gavi e.t.c)
Plus, Arteta needs an out and out prolific goal scorer but not a winger. If a winger arrived, he may cause very many changes in the playing style and the application of the current players especially in ‘the two forward Gabriels’ and ‘the reliable Trossard’ which I don’t think Arteta may need.
With Mikel Merino just the corner away from arriving, Edu, Arteta and the Co. will explore the Market in the remaining period to get a real upgrade to the current striking force.
Big up Keenos
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