Jamie Carragher said he would have “loved” for Liverpool to acquire the midfielder, Declaring Pedro Neto to be “one of the top players in the Premier League.”
Neto, who cost £54 million to sign from Wolves, made his Chelsea debut on Sunday during the team’s 2-0 loss to Manchester City.
The Portugal winger has been predicted for great things for a long time and has been connected to Tottenham and Arsenal in recent years.
Despite his somewhat meager record (14 goals and 24 assists in 135 Wolves appearances), Neto has survived a number of serious ailments, including two consecutive hamstring problems that caused him to miss 18 games in the last campaign.
Carragher has been scathing of Chelsea’s recent transfer business and tipped the club to finish outside of the top-six in 2024/25, but has tipped Neto to be this season’s ‘impact signing’.
‘But for injuries, I think this is a player that could play for the best teams in the world, I really do believe that,’ the Liverpool legend said on Sky Sports Monday Night Football.
‘He’s a player I’ve watched for Wolves in the last three or four years who I’ve always thought I’d love Liverpool to sign him. I just look at him, the pace of him, the quality on the ball, he scores goals, and I just hope he stays fit.
However, the arrival of Neto and Portugal teammate Joao Felix means that Stamford Bridge is now overflowing with forwards, with many questioning how Enzo Maresca will line them up.
His other options include Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson, Christopher Nkunku, Raheem Sterling, Mykhailo Mudryk, Noni Madueke and Marc Guiu, while Enzo Fernandez and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall can also play as a No.10.
Carragher’s fellow Sky pundit Gary Neville theorised: ‘Felix, whether you think he’s a centre-forward or not, will play in that false nine position with two sort of higher wide players. He needs the two quicker ones, Neto and Nkunku
‘I do think that’s the way in which he’ll look to play him. I don’t think he’ll play him wide. I don’t think he’ll play him as a No.10 that often, I think Cole Palmer’s got to play there.
‘I think he plays Joao Felix there and I think he plays Palmer sort of in behind the two central midfield players which means one of the three – [Moises] Caicedo, Fernandez or [Romeo] Lavia – have to be left out.’
We’ll soo find out what Maresca has up his sleeve when Chelsea travel to Neto’s former club Wolves on Sunday.