Man Utd once took PL “superstar” on trial, now he’s been touted at £50m & bullied Shaw
Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe are just two of the well-known players who could have ended up at Old Trafford for almost nothing. In recent years, Manchester United has come to be associated with missing out on star players on the cheap.
Pedro Neto, a player who has already made an impression against Erik ten Hag’s team this season, is one example of how the Red Devils’ frustration at not being able to jump on young talent has come back to haunt them on several occasions.
Why did Man United pass on signing Pedro Neto?
With United having foolishly passed up the opportunity to sign him back in 2016, the now-Wolverhampton Wanderers star—who has spent the last four years playing English football—might have joined the Premier League much sooner. The teenager had been placed on trial during Jose Mourinho’s tenure as manager.
But as it turned out, the young Portuguese wonder apparently did not do enough to satisfy the Manchester powers that be, as he soon returned to Braga of the Primeira Liga, thus blowing the chance to potentially make the dream transfer to the Theatre of Dreams.
After a strong start to life in his own country, Mourinho and company quickly realised their error, as reports surfaced in the summer of 2017 that the club was interested in making a bid for the rising prodigy.
Kilman, Max, and Pedro Neto
The contest was eventually won by Serie A team Lazio. During that transfer window, Neto moved to Italy on a two-year loan before joining Wolves with Bruno Jordao for a reported total of just £18 million.
The amount was quickly dwarfed by rumours that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer of United was among the teams interested in signing the £50 million-rated winger in 2021. The 5 foot 8 speedster was also rumoured to be a potential £50 million transfer to Arsenal last year.
The 23-year-old’s worth was reduced to £9 million by CIES Football Observatory due to his injury-plagued past few years. However, based on his performance thus far this season, the four-cap international appears to be returning to his peak.
What is Pedro Neto’s season-long performance?
As praised by Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher, the fleet-footed “superstar” has been a real bright spot on the wings for the Old Gold, who are currently in 16th place after taking just four points from their first six league games. This season, he has already scored once and assisted four times.
After wearing down the Reds in the first half, Neto—who has the second-most chances created in the division—put up a “majestic showing” in the match against Liverpool earlier this month, according to James Cormack of 90min.
This horrifying quality was also on display over the weekend as the £50k-per-week player scored an incredible solo goal against recently promoted Luton Town, nearly single-handedly giving the ten-man visitors a point at Kenilworth Road.
Jamie Spencer of 90min reported that Neto’s pace had left opponent full-back Luke Shaw with “his work cut out.” The potential wideman had also looked extremely impressive against the Red Devils on the opening weekend.
“Some of Wolves’s best chances came down [Shaw’s] left side,” according to GOAL’s Richard Martin, “but the latter man was a constant thorn in the side of the Englishman as he attempted 15 crosses down the right flank on the day, registered four key passes and completed four of his six dribble attempts.”
It appears to be another instance of “one that got away” for those at Old Trafford. With Ten Hag now lacking players like Anthony and Sancho, having a figure like Neto on the right wing would have been a wonderful match due to his creative quality and persistent, direct character.