City target Pedro Neto and challenge Milan with a £70m move

Manchester City have joined the race for Pedro Neto in earnest. The English club are preparing an offer for the Portuguese forward at Chelsea, valued at £70 million, and the move carries an extra twist: the man running the project now is Enzo Maresca, the very coach who brought out Neto’s potential at Stamford Bridge before taking over at City in place of Pep Guardiola.

A reunion planned by Maresca

Maresca has not hidden his desire to work with the 26-year-old again. The word is that the Italian coach sees Neto as the ideal piece for the tactical system he intends to install in Manchester. It would not be City’s first heavyweight signing of this window: the club has already paid a British record £116 million for Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest and brought in young Jeremy Monga, formerly of Leicester.

Maresca’s priority now is to reassemble the squad he helped shape at Chelsea. And Neto sits at the top of that list.

Milan are chasing too, but it hinges on Leão

City are not the only suitor. Milan have made the Portuguese their number one target in the market and see him as the natural replacement for Rafael Leão, whose future at San Siro is uncertain. The problem is that any progress by the Italians depends directly on Leão himself leaving: without selling the forward, the club will not have the financial room to cover the £70 million Chelsea are asking.

Meanwhile Jorge Mendes, Neto’s agent, has also sounded out Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia. But that route cooled quickly: the Saudi club is prioritising other positions at the moment, and the player himself shows no interest in leaving European football any time soon. Neto wants to keep competing at the highest level.

Chelsea are in no hurry, but could give way

Bought for £54 million from Wolverhampton in August 2024, Neto settled quickly at the London club: 103 appearances and 19 goals, including 30 starts in last season alone. Chelsea regard the winger as an important part of the squad and have no intention of selling him for just any figure.

Even so, a robust offer could change that picture. The club has already invested £117 million to take Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa and may need to balance the books before the window shuts. Neto has been informed of the interest from City and Milan and, it is understood, is open to both possibilities, calmly waiting to see how the situation develops in the final weeks of the market.