⁠Barcelona make Pedro Neto transfer decision as Chelsea poised for summer interest | OneFootball

Barcelona have added versatile Chelsea winger Pedro Neto to their list of potential summer transfer targets, with the relationship between the Catalan club and his agent possibly a key factor, according to reports.

The 26-year-old has played the second-most Premier League minutes among Chelsea attackers this season, with only Joao Pedro having had more.

This shows that both Enzo Maresca and his successor, Liam Rosenior, have had a lot of faith in Neto.

Neto's versatility plays a huge part, of course.

While he is best when operating on the right, he is capable of playing on the left and even centrally as a false nine.

According to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo, this is also the primary reason why Barcelona are interested in the Portugal international.

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Barcelona already have Lamine Yamal and Raphina as their primary wide attacking options, but in terms of cover, they often rely on on-loan forward Marcus Rashford, whose future at Camp Nou remains uncertain.

If they are to sign a new winger in the summer, Neto will reportedly be among the top candidates.

The report also added that Barcelona directors and sporting director Deco maintain a good relationship with Neto's agent, Jorge Mendes, and this could help them strike a deal.

However, Neto, who joined Chelsea from Wolves for a reported £54m in 2024, is under contract with Chelsea until 2031.

Chelsea should, therefore, be under no pressure to offload the winger from this point of view.

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Despite the English-record financial loss in 2024/25, Chelsea sources recently insisted that the club would not be forced to sell their star players to balance the books.

That said, Chelsea have an exciting talent in Estevao at their disposal, and the teenager is expected to continue to play more regularly in the future.

This would likely reduce Neto's minutes as a result, at least on the right flank.

Not to mention that another young talent, Geovany Quenda, is set to join Chelsea in the summer, and he predominantly plays on the right as well.

On the left, Chelsea have Alejandro Garnacho and Jamie Gittens, who, while yet to cement their spots as regular starters, still provide Neto some competition for minutes.