Why Chelsea may have to sacrifice Pedro Neto to make space for wonderkid next season | OneFootball

Chelsea turned down offers for their versatile winger Pedro Neto in the summer, but the expected arrival of Geovany Quenda next season could change their stance, according to reports.

It is hard to imagine that Chelsea would want to let go of Pedro Neto.

The 25-year-old played the second-most minutes for Chelsea across all competitions last season, behind only Cole Palmer, and this trend continues this season.

So far, only Joao Pedro has played more minutes than him in all competitions.

It is, therefore, hardly a surprise that The Athletic claims Chelsea fended off interest in the winger.

He has faced criticism over his underwhelming output for a player with his abilities, but this season, he has the second-most direct contributions for Chelsea in the Premier League, with four goals and two assists.

In addition to that, as he showed in the Champions League win over Barcelona recently, his versatility could prove useful for Enzo Maresca.

That said, as Estevao's minutes are expected to keep increasing, Pedro Neto's would consequently drop.

IMAGO / News Images

In addition to that, Chelsea have also had an agreement in place for Sporting's highly-rated talent Geovany Quenda.

Similar to Pedro Neto, the 18-year-old can play on both flanks, but predominantly operates on the right.

At such a young age, Quenda has already provided three goals and six assists for Sporting this season, including two goals and two assists in the Champions League.

Bear in mind that Chelsea let go of Noni Madueke, who started 27 Premier League games for them last season, to their London rivals, Arsenal, this summer.

IMAGO / Giuseppe Maffia

There is no doubt that it was partly because they had to make space for Estevao.

Quenda would need space in the squad, too.

Of course, Chelsea could easily offload one of their left wingers, Jamie Gittens and Alejandro Garnacho, instead, since Pedro Neto is capable of filling that position.

However, Gittens and Garnacho just arrived this summer, and it is likely much easier to find suitors for Pedro Neto, given that Chelsea had to reject offers for him already.