Former Chelsea winger Shaun Wright-Phillips believes Pedro Neto can kick on after scoring against West Ham earlier this week.
The Portuguese international has struggled to find an end product since his £54m move from Wolves in the summer. However, speaking exclusively to Chelsea News (courtesy of BetVictor Casino), Wright-Phillips said Neto possesses all the talent required to be a success at Stamford Bridge:
“He’s a fantastic player first of all. He’d really enjoyed himself at Wolves. Whenever they played City, he was probably the only person that scared everybody on the pitch, but there’s still a lot to come [from him].”
“I think he’s come from a Wolves team that, in many ways, are quite gung-ho and he’s come into a Chelsea team that are slow – not slow – but I mean they take their time and build and look for the right passes to play. He’s not always getting a ball straight away whereas at Wolves that’s what they are looking for – instant – any break it’s him – where now [at Chelsea], there’s multiple options so he might not get the ball straight away, but he might get it on the second or third time where he’s not used to it.”
“So I think he’s just finding his feet and I know in his celebration [against West Ham] when he scored, he was doing a ‘keep talking’ sort of thing saying ‘I’m coming’ – and I believe he will come because he’s got bags of ability. He knows where the goal is, and he’s fantastic at creating chances. I think that time will come.”
Neto’s numbers do need to improve
The 24-year-old’s goal in the London derby on Monday night was only his second for the club in the Premier League. Many fans feel that he should be getting on the scoresheet more often to justify his price tag.
As Wright-Phillips points out, though, it is still too early to determine whether he will be a success or not with the Blues. It may simply be a matter of time before we see the player who was so threatening during his time at Wolves.
Chelsea do lack goals from the wings
Neto is by no means alone when it comes to the club’s lack of potency from wide areas. Jadon Sancho has only found the back of the net twice in all competitions since his move from Manchester United. Mykhailo Mudryk managed 3 prior to his suspension.
Noni Madueke has been the most consistent in front of goal (with 8) but it’s something that as a collective they need to improve upon. It will be hoped that Neto can start contributing more in that regard.
Read more from our exclusive interview with Shaun Wright-Phillips. He talks about Arsenal making a move for Bryan Mbeumo and Manchester City’s Top 4 Prospects.
