Pedro Neto shined in his most recent international game for Portugal. The forward is enjoying a great breakout season and it would be surprising to see Wolves keep hold of him beyond the summer.
Portugal ended their World Cup Qualifiers as Group A leads after going unbeaten in their three openers. In their final game where they went down in the first half, Pedro Neto was the true hero in turning the result around and he didn’t even get his name on the scorecard.
However, he was at the forefront of two of the three goals scored – which saw the final score read 1-3 to the Portuguese on Tuesday night. He made an instant impact after just being introduced to the game.
In the 41st minute of the game he was brought on to replace João Félix. With his first few touches of the game, he supplied Diogo Jota with a sublime cross to bring their country level on terms just before the halftime break.
🔄 41’ Pedro Neto comes on
— Squawka Live (@Squawka_Live) March 30, 2021
🅰️ 45+1’ Assists Diogo Jota
🅰️ 80’ Assists João Palhinha
The 21-year-old making an impact off the bench for his country. pic.twitter.com/7yX4UxuBlU
It didn’t stop there for Pedro Neto
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Once the second half got underway, Portugal came out swinging. The captain and football great Ronaldo scored the go-ahead goal just after the whistle blew for the second-half kickoff.
Then Neto showed up with the goods again in the 80th minute and added the finishing touches to complete a great turnaround by the Portuguese. He assisted João Palhinha with a superbly taken corner for the final goal of the game, racking up his second assist for the night.
This impact we have had the pleasure of seeing all season long. Following the career-threatening head injury of Raul Jimenez, Pedro has stepped in and shown his quality on a number of occasions.
He is proving to be one of Portugal’s hottest prospects alongside Jota and it will not be long before we see Wolves’ struggling to keep hold of him. It will even be surprising to see him at the Molineux Stadium next season beyond this summer’s transfer window.
Teams will come knocking for Neto in the summer
If teams haven’t been enquiring already, they will be now as we approach the business end of the season and clubs start working on their next campaign.
He has played more than what he expected to this season but again, this was due to the long-term absence of Jimenez. Neto has made 29 Premier League appearances, scoring five and assisting another five.
The Wolves’ forward is seeing as a target for Manchester United, who view him as the perfect Jadon Sancho alternative if the deal falls through for the Englishman. They and a number of other European giants have been monitoring his situation.
It would cost any club up to £50million if they wanted to prize him away from Wanderers. So this could be the one reason he stays put. Clubs could be unwilling to fork out £50m for a player who is still regarded as a bench, impact player by his club and country.
Although, it must be said, if he continues to build on his superb form from this season, imagine what he will cost in a year or so from now?