Wolves shocked Manchester City on Saturday to hand Pep Guardiola a first Premier League defeat of the season – and Pedro Neto was pivotal to his side’s victory.
The Portugal international outpaced both Phil Foden and Nathan Ake at Molineux on Saturday, carrying the ball 70 yards before finding the net via the shin of Ruben Dias.
Interestingly, Manchester City already tried to sign Pedro Neto – and we think Pep Guardiola could take another look at the Wolves star in 2024…
What’s the story?
Well – according to SPORT in Spain – Manchester City tried to sign the Wolves No.7 while he was playing for Braga back in 2017.
It is said that Barcelona also wanted to sign Neto and place him in their famed La Masia, where Guardiola himself emerged back in 1990.
Unfortunately for the Citizens and also Barcelona, they were not able to add the Viana do Castelo-born sensation to their ranks, and he eventually sealed a move to Wolves in August 2019 for a fee in the region of £18m.
Neto suffered a serious knee injury back in 2021 which stunted his development, but he showed no signs of any permanent damage from that problem as he caused Manchester City all sorts of problems on Saturday.
Guardiola recently spoke about his desire to sign players who excel at carrying the ball, such as Jeremy Doku, Matheus Nunes and Mateo Kovacic, as he aims to find new ways to open up opponents.
Due to that policy – and one more reason – we think Guardiola could reignite his interest in Neto next summer.
Why Manchester City could try to sign Pedro Neto in 2024
As things stand, Neto would have struggled for game time at the Etihad Stadium as Bernardo Silva is the preferred choice out on the right flank.
However – according to le10sport in France – the Manchester City No.20 wants to leave in 2024, and has already verbally agreed personal terms with PSG.
Silva is also said to have a £50m release clause in his contract – given their wealth, PSG will surely have no problem affording that sum.
Therefore, if the Lisbon-born maestro does leave Manchester City in 2024, we wouldn’t be surprised to see Guardiola make another move for Neto as his replacement.
