Pedro Neto and Liverpool: A Transfer That Could Have Been

Two summers ago, Liverpool thought they were close. Talks were held with the representatives of Pedro Neto, then lighting up Molineux with Wolves. The profile fit, the age profile fit, the league adaptation box was already ticked. Then Chelsea arrived with their chequebook and their project, and Neto went to Stamford Bridge instead.

Jamie Carragher has never quite hidden his frustration about that one.

Now, at 26, Neto is a Club World Cup winner with Chelsea, a forward who’s racked up 19 goals in 103 appearances and three of those on the biggest global club stage just 12 months ago. His story in England hasn’t been one of relentless end product, but he has consistently hinted at a higher ceiling.

And the Liverpool link just refuses to die.

‘He would jump at this’

On Anfield Index’s The Transfer Show, journalist Dave Davis lifted the lid on Liverpool’s wide-forward plans for this summer – and dropped Neto’s name straight back into the conversation.

“Who are Liverpool going to move for? It’s clear the wingers are the priority, and I’m saying that plural. We’ve known that all summer,” Davis said, outlining a recruitment drive that looks set to reshape the club’s attacking options.

Then came the Mendes line.

“Liverpool seem to be back in bed with Jorge Mendes, whose client is Pedro Neto. He is very distinct, Neto, if I’m trying to be positive about this. He is a carrier, his passing is good. He is a crosser. The cross expected threat, 95th percentile. The cross value added, 93rd percentile.”

This isn’t the language of vague admiration. Those are the numbers of a specialist. A winger who lives on the outside, who whips the ball in with purpose, who drags full-backs into places they don’t want to go.

Then Davis went a step further.

“Our info is getting this stood up today. Neto would jump at this. They nearly did him when he was at Wolves.”

The caveat followed – Davis himself admitted he was “poking holes” in the idea – but the message was clear. If Liverpool came calling, the Chelsea forward would be ready to listen.

The numbers behind the name

Strip away the Mendes connection and the emotional pull of a ‘nearly’ transfer, and you’re left with a cold question: does Neto actually move the needle for Liverpool?

His Chelsea goal record isn’t flattering. Nine Premier League goals in 69 games is a modest return for a wide forward at a club of that size. For comparison, Cody Gakpo, heavily criticised at times last season, managed nine in 52 games in all competitions for Liverpool in 2023/24.

That’s the kind of detail that makes recruitment departments pause.

But Neto’s value has never been purely about goals. The underlying data paints a different picture – one of a creative hub rather than a ruthless finisher.

In the 2025/26 Premier League season, per 90 minutes, Neto sits near the top of the tree in several key metrics among positional peers (Fotmob):

• Pass completion: 87.3% – 89th percentile
• Successful crosses: 1.29 – 88th percentile
• ‘Big chances’ created: 0.41 – 81st percentile
• Assists: 0.2 – 78th percentile
• Chances created: 1.8 – 78th percentile
• Successful dribbles: 1.6 – 76th percentile

Those are the numbers of a reliable chance creator, a player who progresses play, looks after the ball and consistently feeds the box. In a system built around a dominant centre-forward and aggressive runners from midfield, that profile can be gold.

Salah’s shadow and the Chelsea factor

Any right-sided attacker linked with Liverpool right now walks into the same conversation: can he live in the shadow of Mo Salah? Or more precisely, can he help Liverpool function in a world where Salah is no longer the inevitable source of goals and chaos from that flank?

Neto offers something different. He can operate off the right, cut inside, hug the touchline, or drift across the front three. He can also fill in on the left and even through the middle if needed. That kind of versatility has long appealed to Liverpool’s recruitment team.

He is Premier League proven. He knows the intensity, the schedule, the scrutiny. And history shows Chelsea aren’t shy about selling to direct rivals when the deal suits them: Kai Havertz and Noni Madueke to Arsenal, Mason Mount to Manchester United. The route is open.

The problem is timing and fit.

Liverpool are not just looking for “a winger”. They’re looking for goals, for someone who can help replace the sheer volume Salah has produced for years. Neto’s creativity is attractive; his finishing record is not. To justify a major fee from a domestic rival, he would need to project as a decisive, scoreboard-changing forward, not just a high-end facilitator.

A tempting idea, a distant reality

So you end up with a familiar Premier League transfer story. A player who would, by all accounts, relish the move. A club that once tried to get him and could use his skill set. An agent with whom the relationship has warmed again.

And yet, when you strip it back, it still feels unlikely.

Liverpool’s search this summer appears to be locked on wingers who can both create and finish at an elite level. Neto ticks many boxes, but not the most important one often enough. Chelsea, for their part, would hardly let him go on the cheap, especially to a rival.

For now, it remains an intriguing “what if” rather than an imminent “when”.

Liverpool almost did Pedro Neto once. The question is whether they ever will – or whether that missed moment two years ago was their only real shot.