Injuries deprived Neto of bigger move, claims Wolves boss O’Neil

Gary O’Neil has said Pedro Neto could have sealed an even bigger move away from Wolves, if not for his injury record.

Neto left Wolves for Chelsea earlier in August, signing for the Blues in a £45million move.

The Portugal international is set for a swift reunion with his former club, though, with Wolves welcoming Chelsea to Molineux on Sunday.

Ahead of that contest, Wolves boss O’Neil believes Neto could have moved on for an even larger fee – and to an even bigger side – had he stayed fit over the course of recent seasons, with the winger having missed close to four months due to injuries last term.

“The important thing for him now is being able to play week in, week out,” O’Neil said of Neto.

“I always felt he was unfortunate with injuries, he never struck me as injury prone. That will be a question mark around him at the moment.

“It’s not one I’d be concerned about, which is why I was desperate to keep him and play him every week, but you can understand that may have had an impact in the summer.

“But he can definitely play at any club in world football. His talent, work ethic and physical attributes allow him to play at whatever level he wants.”

O’Neil also stressed Chelsea have signed, in his view, an outstanding talent.

“He is one of the best out-and-out wide players in world football. What he can do one-v-one, his explosive pace, what he can do when he arrives there, it allows him to do things not many players can do,” he added.

“It was an emotional goodbye He loved it here, his time before I was here and how well it went for him last season on the pitch.”

Chelsea can announce which number Joao Felix will wear for the Blues, while Pedro Neto has also changed shirt number.

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 21, 2024

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Wolves – Hwang Hee-chan

With Neto gone, there is even more onus on Hwang Hee-chan, who was one of Wolves’ most impressive players last season. He created one chance in the defeat at Arsenal last week, though failed to get a shot off, so O’Neil will want to see a greater attacking impact this time out.

Chelsea – Pedro Neto

Going up against his old team means Neto will be eager to impress in what could be his full debut, having come on from the bench against Manchester City last time out. The 24-year-old has been in the headlines this week too, after he took the number seven shirt previously occupied by Raheem Sterling, who is now out in the cold at Chelsea.

MATCH PREDICTION: CHELSEA WIN

Despite losing to Man City in their opener, Enzo Maresca’s team are predicted to get the job done at Molineux by Opta’s supercomputer.

The Blues have not lost their opening two league games in a season since 1973-74, while the last Chelsea manager to lose his first two matches in charge was Gianluca Vialli in February 1998.

Wolves have lost their last four Premier League matches. They have not lost more consecutively since a six-game run between May and August 2021 (three games under Nuno Espirito Santo, three under Bruno Lage), while the last Wolves manager to lose five in a row was Terry Connor between March and April 2012 (seven).

They have lost six of their nine Premier League home games so far in 2024 (W3), with no side losing more. They had only lost four of their 20 league games at Molineux in the whole of 2023.

That being said, Chelsea are winless in four away league games against Wolves (D1 L3), since a 5-2 victory in September 2019 under Frank Lampard.

Chelsea have also conceded at least once in each of their last 16 Premier League away games, their longest run without a clean sheet on the road since a run of 24 between January 1993 and February 1994.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Wolves – 24.1%

Chelsea – 51.4%

Draw – 24.5%