Arsenal’s pursuit of Wolves winger Pedro Neto has been backed up by comments from club legend Thierry Henry.
The Gunners have made Neto their primary transfer target in the final 10 days of the summer window, with Nicolas Pepe’s loan move to Nice setting up the possibility of a late move. The 22-year-old could become the sixth signing of a productive summer for Mikel Arteta’s side, with talks ongoing between the club and Neto’s agent, Jorge Mendes.
Neto has 11 goals and 12 assists in 95 appearances for Wolves since joining the club from Braga in August 2019. The youngster has developed impressively over the past few years and Henry would welcome a move to Arsenal, should it come around.
“I like him a lot,” the former Arsenal striker said on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football during Wolves’ clash with Liverpool last year. “Especially the situation that he found himself in with [Raul] Jimenez being injured and Diogo Jota now playing for the other side tonight.
“It’s not easy to have everything on your shoulders. What I like is he’s not scared to beat people on the outside. I like it, he can cross with his right, finish with his left. He’s always looking to have a go and attack the defender – always on the front foot. It’s not easy to do this at such a young age, in a team where you’re not often in possession and dominating games. I think he’s performed extremely well.”
Neto signed a contract extension with Wolves in March, meaning he is now contracted with the club until June 2027. The Midlands club are under no pressure to sell and just banked £42million after Bruno Lage allowed Morgan Gibbs-White to join Nottingham Forest.
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But the recent signings of Goncalo Guedes and Matheus Nunes have increased speculation about Neto. Mendes wields great influence at Wolves and could be looking to move his client to a club who will compete in the Europa League and have started the campaign with three straight wins.
Arsenal have been busy in the summer transfer window, bringing in Gabriel Jesus, Matt Turner, Marquinhos, Fabio Vieira and Oleksandr Zinchenko so far. The Gunners are understood to be seeking a versatile new forward, as well as possibly a central midfielder. Neto is far from the only player who has been linked with the north London clubs, with PSV Eindhoven’s Cody Gakpo, Bayer Leverkusen’s Moussa Diaby and Shakhtar Donetsk’s Mykhaylo Mudryk also on their shortlist.
The addition of a new forward could also depend on the departure of Pepe, who is in talks with Nice over a loan move. The Ivory Coast international, who arrived for £72m from Lille three years ago, is paid around £140,000, and getting his wages off the books is an important step.
