Pedro Neto

Pedro Lomba Neto



Current Club: Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Previous Clubs: Lazio, SC Braga, Perspectiva em Jogo, SC Vianense.

Loan Clubs: Palmeiras (Portugal), Lazio.





International: Portugal 5 caps 1 goal.

Trophies Won: Italian FA Cup 2018/19.





The first thing that has to be pointed out about Neto is the injuries, he has had a couple of serious injuries in his career already that have seen him miss significant periods of time. That is something that has to be considered when you look at him, partly because he has not long returned so is still getting back to speed and partly because of the worry of recurrence.



A lot of the time, the worry is that a player picking up significant knee and ankle injuries will lose their pace, particularly their acceleration. However Neto has already shown this season that his pace is still there when he gave Manchester City's defence such a torrid time, completely destroying Nathan Ake in a chase, that Pep Guardiola was forced to move Kyle Walker over to try and nullify him.



Another thing that has to be mentioned is that there are really two Neto's. The Neto on the right and the Neto on the left. Despite being left-footed, playing on the left he is nowhere near the same level as he is on the right, where he is much more effective. On the left he lacks an end product as he continues to cut inside only for his final ball to let him down as he wants it on his left.



On the right and he is an excellent and extremely dangerous player, who can create and score goals and his final ball tends to be useful. It is a mental issue, as he wants to do the exact same things and play the same way on both sides. Instead of just playing as an orthodox winger on the left and using his pace and skill to beat his man, get to the byline and put in a good cross, he usually looks to cut inside and play a ball or shoot from there.



But, because he heavily favours his left foot, his body position is wrong as he cuts inside, meaning that he either makes a mess of the final ball or he has to shift himself to get his body position right to use his left. That then gives defenders just that extra moment to get into position to hustle him into snatching at it or being in the way to block.



He can still cause havoc and beat his man whichever side he plays on, the difference is all in that end product. It is small margins, but at the top level of the game these small margins make all the difference between success and failure. So, if you were looking at signing him as a left winger, I would say you should probably look elsewhere as he would not provide good value for the money Wolves would want to let him go.



But, if you are looking for a right winger, he would certainly be an option worth considering for most teams in the world. There are very few players that can offer the same combination of pace, skill and end product from the right wing and it is very noticeable how much more dangerous Wolves' attack has been since he returned from injury.



Requested by - Longthing76