Lee Smith via Reuters
Manchester City have held talks with Chelsea winger Pedro Neto about a deal to reunite him with Enzo Maresca, but a deal is difficult to complete at this stage, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The Cityzens have had a fairly quiet window so far, having brought in Elliot Anderson for a club-record £116m from Nottingham Forest, alongside youngsters Jeremy Monga and Pierce Charles, but they are expected to be busy in the transfer market in the final weeks, with moves for the likes of Ayyoub Bouaddi and Rodri being looked at.
City are still keen to add to their forward department too, with the new manager looking to bring in a familiar face to help strengthen the squad after swapping Stamford Bridge for the Etihad Stadium.
Romano: City Move for Neto Stalling
REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
Neto established himself as a regular at Chelsea under Maresca during their time together in west London, and now the Italian is keen to reunite with the Portugal international.
Chelsea are not looking to sell Neto this summer, but are not ruling out a move if the price is right. Romano reports that the Blues are demanding around £70m for the former Wolves star, and speaking in his latest YouTube video, the reliable journalist revealed that that is now proving to be a sticking point in talks between the clubs.
"Manchester City have an interest in Pedro Neto," he said. Manchester City spoke with the agents of Pedro Neto more than once, so there has been a conversation.
"Pedro Neto is on Man City list to replace Savino, who is a target for Tottenham. But at the moment, the gap in valuation is a big gap for Pedro Neto. I would say it's a similar situation [to Enzo Fernandez] because Chelsea are also happy with Pedro Neto.
"Chelsea are not desperate to sell Pedro, and so at the moment there are difficulties to advance on this deal because of the gap and because of what happened with the Maresca appointment."
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Pedro Neto Premier League Stats 25/26 (per 90)
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Neto Would Be Fighting to Start
Pedro Neto
Neto was a regular at Chelsea under Maresca, but the winger options at Man City are a totally different level, and it would be hard to see how he starts ahead of certain players.
Jeremy Doku, Phil Foden, Rayan Cherki, Antoine Semenyo, and Omar Marmoush are all able to play out wide, while Savinho is still currently part of their squad, despite strong interest from Tottenham.
Neto has been a hugely popular figure, with former manager Liam Rosenior describing him as 'world-class', and it's no surprise that Chelsea are not actively looking to sell.
‘Pedro Neto brings us so many different qualities that we need," he said.
"He's going to be really, really important for us for where I think we can get to and what we can achieve for the rest of the season."