Back in November, Pedro Neto recalled a very memorable moment in his career.
“I remember when I met my first agent,” the Chelsea attacker explained to Sky Sports in November. “He asked me what I wanted to be. I just said, ‘I want to be the best’. The agent started smiling but my father wasn’t laughing and said, ‘No, this is his mentality’.”
From the outside, this mentality from Neto comes across very clearly. He has now scored twice in his last two appearances at Stamford Bridge and after both goals, he marked them with a similar celebration. A gesture to almost silence those who have been doubting him.
And there have been many amongst the Blues fan base. While Neto has shown glimpses of his electrifying talent and style of play, we are yet to see the absolute best of the Portugal international in a Chelsea shirt. When he was signed for £54million last summer, many were excited by the arrival but equally had their reservations – largely because of one thing.
His injury record. During his five years at Wolves, Neto missed an astonishing 112 games in all competitions for club and country because of injuries. Thus far at the Blues, Neto has been absent for just two games this season, coming in mid-to-late November of last year. The 24-year-old’s availability has been significant for Enzo Maresca, particularly at this present moment in time with the likes of Nicolas Jackson, Marc Guiu and Noni Madueke all missing through injury.
With Jackson and Guiu out, Maresca has searched for a solution to Chelsea’s No.9 problem and Neto, who has started more than half of his appearances in the Premier League this term, has provided a temporary answer for the head coach. Starting through the middle against Aston Villa, the Portuguese was one of Chelsea’s strongest performers in the 2-1 defeat at Villa Park. Setting up the opening goal of the game where he put the ball on a plate for Enzo Fernandez to tap in, he continued his form at Stamford Bridge a few days later.
Against Southampton, albeit a very poor Saints side, Neto was one of the stars of the show yet again. The former Wolves man fired Chelsea two goals ahead in the first-half, smashing the ball past Aaron Ramsdale at his near post and he then turned provider before the break, putting in a peach of a delivery for Levi Colwill to power his header into the back of the net.
“I enjoy the role I’m playing through the middle, it’s good because I don’t have to run back as much,” Neto said as he laughed along. “Wherever the manager needs me, I’m happy to do my best for the team. Playing further forward and centrally means I have more energy for running forward and trying to get behind the defence with my pace.
“It’s good for me because it’s almost like I have a free role. I can receive the ball into feet, or I can go in behind, so it gives us options. I’m really enjoying the role but like I said, I’m happy to play wherever is needed and as long as I’m helping the team, that’s the most important thing.
“I was pleased to get a goal and to assist Levi. It’s something I want to do more with my game and being calm in front of goal is something I want to add, and I will keep working hard to improve on that.”
Neto offers something completely different to Christopher Nkunku, who was trialled as the sole No.9 in the defeats to Brighton earlier in the month. The Portuguese likes to play on the shoulder of the last defender which in turn allows more space for the likes of Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez to roam in the No.10 positions.
Equally, however, Neto is also playing a fairly free role. He often roams out to either wing to either try and create space in the middle or look for a better position on the flanks. At the moment, defenders and midfielders are finding it difficult to keep track of Neto, something that the opposition might become better at the more he plays in this new role.
Neto is likely to travel to Copenhagen next week for Chelsea’s next game but whether or not he will start in Denmark is another question. Jackson is not expected back from injury until after the international break so the likelihood is that Neto will be asked to lead the line in the Premier League next Sunday as Chelsea welcome Leicester City to Stamford Bridge.
It means Maresca could look for something different in the Danish capital next Thursday. He brought Shim Mheuka on with minutes to go during the Blues’ win against Southampton on Tuesday and the 17-year-old striker, making his Premier League debut, gave the head coach everything he could have realistically wanted in his brief cameo.
He ran around plenty off the ball, trying to win possession back for his side and he almost scored with his very first touch. Mheuka met a corner at the back post and leapt higher than anyone else around him, making a decent connection with the ball, but – slightly off-balance – his effort was too close to Ramsdale.
Mheuka is very highly-rated at Chelsea and is viewed as a hugely exciting prospect for the future, but with injuries to key players in the senior squad, a door has opened for the teenager. The former Brighton youth product could well travel to Copenhagen with the first team next week, having made his UEFA Conference League debut against Astana in Kazakhstan back in December.
He was also named on the bench for games against Panathinaikos, Heidenheim and Shamrock Rovers but was not used by Maresca. Whether or not he will be trusted from the start in a big European game for Chelsea? You would suspect not, but the prospect of seeing more minutes from the talent is an exciting one for supporters.
