Pedro Neto is no longer a Wolves player and Matt Hobbs has made a rather interesting claim about the winger following his move to Chelsea.
Neto was officially sold on Sunday, with the club bringing in a record fee of around £54 million.
News broke on Saturday that Chelsea and Wolves were in advanced talks over the player. The story then moved very quickly, and the two clubs reached an agreement soon after.
Earlier in the summer Neto had been tipped to leave.
But fans started to feel as though he was going to stay, with Gary O’Neil recently stating that there had been no offers for him. The manager said that he felt confident he would be sticking around.
But Chelsea swooped, and Neto has now gone – following Max Kilman out of Molineux down to London.
Sporting director Matt Hobbs has been speaking about Neto, and the suggestion is that the player didn’t actually particularly want to leave.
Pedro Neto didn’t want to leave Wolves, but couldn’t pass up the opportunity to join Chelsea
It was long felt that Neto was going to leave in this window.
However, it had been fairly quiet on him in recent weeks, and he then joined up with the squad in Miami for pre-season after an extended break.
But Chelsea quietly made their move, and Wolves were happy to accept £54 million.
Neto’s love for Wolves has always been clear, and it was seemingly not too easy for the player to actually say yes to Chelsea. Sporting director Matt Hobbs has now claimed that it was simply a case of Neto not being able to pass up the opportunity, and that the player didn’t necessarily want to leave.
He said (via Wolves official): “As hard as it was for us, I think it was probably harder for Pedro. Tears all morning at the training ground – I don’t think Pedro wanted to leave Wolverhampton Wanderers, and I’ve spoken to him since and he’ll always love the club.
“But it felt like an opportunity for him that he couldn’t turn down and a deal for us we couldn’t turn down.
“Pedro gets to go and compete in European football – Chelsea, with the amount of money they spend, have to be under pressure for titles and Champions League football.
“So, he’ll get that opportunity, but nobody should think this was easy for Pedro. For me, it was right for everyone, but also really upsetting for everyone.”
Neto’s feelings for Wolves are clear
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It is really interesting to hear Hobbs say this.
Clearly, it was really hard for Neto to actually give the green light to move, because he plainly loves the club.
He has often cut a very happy figure over the last five years and clearly he is very grateful to Wolves for everything they have done for him.
He cannot be blamed for making this move now though. And Wolves have received a good fee for the player.
While it would have been fantastic for Wolves to keep Neto, it is a move that suits all parties and hopefully officials will now be looking to reinvest the cash to improve the squad.