A Chelsea star who is yet to score in the Premier League this season has bizarrely been hailed as the ‘signing of the summer’.
Chelsea continued their incredible spending spree during last summer’s transfer window, bringing the likes of Tosin Adarabioyo, Omari Kellyman, Marc Guiu, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Renato Veiga, Joao Felix and Jadon Sancho to Stamford Bridge.
The Blues also spent £54m to sign Pedro Neto from Premier League rivals Wolves and the Portuguese winger was the ‘best signing of the summer’, according to ex-Chelsea defender Glen Johnson.
Neto scored 14 goals in 135 appearances for Wolves, largely impressing for the Midlands club despite struggling with fitness issues during his time at Molineux.
The 24-year-old is yet to score in the Premier League this season in eight appearances but has at least contributed two goals for Chelsea in cup competitions.
Former England international Johnson admits Neto has ‘not looked the best so far’ but is excited to see what the winger can produce at Chelsea once he hits ‘top gear’.
Asked which Premier League signing he is most excited about, Johnson told Betfred: ‘He’s not looked the best so far, but I do believe that Pedro Neto was the best signing of the summer.
‘I’m looking forward to seeing him get into top gear. He has a huge reputation and was signed for a lot of money.
‘We’ve already seen what he’s capable of doing when he was at Wolves, but now we need to wait and see if he can do it for a top team.’
Neto replaced Jadon Sancho at half-time in Chelsea’s Premier League clash at Liverpool on Sunday but could not prevent the Blues from suffering a 2-1 defeat to the early league leaders.
Asked whether he expects Neto to replace Sancho in the team going forward, Johnson added: ‘Neto’s a fantastic player.
‘When he finds his form and gets some regular gametime, then of course he could occupy that position because there was a reason why Chelsea bought him for a lot of money.
‘Sancho is a player that needs to be happy because nobody can question his ability, so it’s good to watch him bouncing back.
‘He needs to be more consistent, but it’s a fantastic problem for Chelsea to have because having those two happy, in form and playing for the same spot means that the club is doing something right.’
Chelsea received much praise for their performance at Anfield despite leaving empty-handed, with Enzo Maresca’s side pushing Liverpool hard and showing signs they can continue to fight for a top-four place this season.
It was just Chelsea’s second defeat in the Premier League since Maresca took over, the Blues now sixth in the table, three points outside the Champions League spots.
Johnson backed Chelsea to finish in the top-four before the season started and is happy to stay with that prediction from what he has seen so far this term.
‘I’m going to remain loyal and say Chelsea,’ he said. ‘I still believe that they have a lot more to give.
‘Aston Villa have been consistently good for the last few years, so they’re not going to go anywhere, but as long as Chelsea finish ahead of them, they should end up in the top four.’
Asked to rate Tottenham and Manchester United’s chances of gate-crashing the top-four, Johnson added: ‘I wouldn’t say they are out of the running because they’re two fantastic sides with fantastic players, but they’re both just waiting for the penny to drop.
‘They’re both capable of anything. If both of them won 3-0 next week, I wouldn’t be surprised, and if they both lost 3-0 next week, I wouldn’t be surprised.
‘If the penny drops with both of them, then they’ll both be in the race to finish in the top four.’
