Wolves had the next Neto in “outstanding” academy gem then O’Neil sold him.
Wolverhampton Wanderers have had some major sales over the past few summers. It has certainly not made things easy for them this season; the Old Gold sit 19th in the Premier League on six points, having won their first top-flight game last weekend against Southampton.
Over the last two few summers, they have lost some prominent first-team players. In 2023, former club captain Ruben Neves was sold to Saudi side Al-Hilal and his fellow Portuguese midfielder Matheus Nunes joined Manchester City. More recently, Max Kilman signed for West Ham United last summer.
matheus-nunes-wolves-premier-league
However, there is one sale which has arguably impacted the club – and current boss Gary O’Neil – more than any other. That player is Pedro Neto.
Neto’s Wolves career
It was a memorable weekend for Neto during the most recent round of fixtures, as he scored his first Premier League goal for Chelsea to earn them a hard-fought point, as the Blues drew 1-1 at home to Arsenal.
It was a stunning long-range strike, and it perhaps demonstrates just how high of a level the winger can, and is, playing to at the moment.
Pedro Neto fizzes it home and Chelsea are level! 🔵 pic.twitter.com/d380p0Hx3o — Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) November 10, 2024
He made the move to West London over the summer, with Wolves eventually settling for a fee of £54m including add-ons. The 24-year-old has made a good start to life in Blue, with three goals and three assists to his name in 13 games.
Even though his Molineux career was tarnished by injury, Neto was superb for the Old Gold during his time at the club. He featured 135 times in total, scoring 14 goals and grabbing 24 assists. The Portugal international starred during the 2023/24 Premier League season. He played just 20 games, but scored twice and grabbed nine assists, a very productive campaign.
Pedro Neto for Wolves
Injuries did ravage Neto’s career at Wolves, however. Since the start of the 2019/20 season, the 24-year-old missed a total of 584 days out with injury. The longest spell he was out for was 52 games between April 2021 and February 2022.
Although he struggled with fitness throughout his time at Molineux, there is no doubting Neto’s brilliance for the Old Gold. They miss him after his summer departure and have yet to find a replacement.
However, there was a period of time when Wolves thought they had Neto’s dream replacement in the academy.
The ex-academy star who could have replaced Neto
The player in question here is young winger Theo Corbeanu. The 22-year-old Canadian attacker was once highly rated at Molineux, described by journalist Alex Dicken as someone who could ‘follow Pedro Neto’ and become a prominent first-team player.
He was also highly regarded by those within the club at the time, with U23 boss James Collins hailing him as “an outstanding prospect”, while stating that he’s “got a bit of everything”.
