Arsenal could be signing their very own Cristiano Ronaldo soon.
Well, sort of.
Speculation is mounting that the Gunners could be bringing Pedro Neto from Wolves to the Emirates Stadium in what’ll be a £60 million deal.
Nicolas Pepe has left Arsenal to join Nice on a season-long loan and Neto, at the moment, is looking like his potential replacement.
Earlier this week, Fabrizio Romano reported that the Portugal international wants to join the North Londoners.
Arsenal’s Portuguese-speaking contingent is growing significantly, with Brazilian duo Marquinhos and Gabriel Jesus joining this summer, while Neto’s compatriot Fabio Vieira also signed up for Mikel Arteta’s project following a transfer from Porto.
And if comments from fellow Portugal international Ruben Dias are accurate, Arteta could be getting a Ronaldo-esque dribbler.
Last summer, the Manchester City defender was speaking about his international colleagues’ individual skills – and Neto was name-checked alongside Ronaldo when it came to dribbling.
Dias told Premier League’s YouTube channel, as quoted by HITC Sport at the time: “Again I need to say Cristiano. The time he was here he was definitely great, he got the Ballon D’Or, but I have to say Neto as well.”
It’ll take more than excellent dribbling to be a success at Arsenal.
That’s because Pepe, the player Neto could replace, had excellent tricks and close control, a little like Ronaldo as well come to think of it.
And yet he’s just been loaned back to Ligue 1 because he couldn’t succeed in the Premier League.
The good news is that Neto is already proven in English football, something that no doubt makes him appealing for the Londoners’ hierarchy.
And it’ll be very interesting to see if he can make the grade at Arsenal, should the transfer actually materialise.
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