Pedro Neto has signed for Chelsea, and today his first interview with the club was released, 24 hours after he was introduced on the pitch at Stamford Bridge in our final preseason friendly.
The winger has a lot of work to do to get up to speed with his new teammates, although it’s revealed in this interview he already is social media friends with Reece James after they shared injury recovery tips together, plus he knows fellow new signing Renato Veiga from Portugal’s pre-Euros camp this summer.
The most interesting part of the interview is Neto speaking about his position on the pitch:
“I like to play in the three positions in the front,’ Neto explains. ‘I have played more in the wide areas at Wolves but inside is also good for me, I don’t have a preference. I hope to bring work, I hope to bring faith to the team, to bring wins, to bring goals, to bring assists, and to bring everything to make everybody happy here.”
The plan coming together
While it was initially confusing to see yet another attacking player brought in to a squad which is already full of them, it makes a lot more sense when you consider this flexibility.
At the moment there are options on both left and right flanks which we’ve invested a lot of money into, and won’t be able to move on from without a loss.
But having Neto able to play either side or in the middle opens up a lot more chances for him, and means that the minutes of the others can be maintained too. Raheem Sterling and Mykhailo Mudryk must feel more under threat down the left than Noni Madueke down the right, after some important preseason goals.
But the big picture is that the pressure is on everyone to perform.
