Wolves fans have today woken up to reports that Arsenal are prioritising a move for Pedro Neto.
The Gunners are keen to sign the 22-year-old as a potential replacement for Nicolas Pepe, who appears set to join Nice.
Apparently, the two clubs have actually been in talks for weeks.
Wolves are reported to be reluctant to sell. But The Sun have reported that the club would demand £50 million.
At the moment, Arsenal are apparently willing to stump up £35 million.
If the £50 million claim is true, then that’s difficult to understand.
Wolves are supposedly in a position now where sales are not necessary. The Athletic reported that despite shelling over £90 million on Nathan Collins, Goncalo Guedes and Matheus Nunes, the club don’t need to sell players to offset those deals.
Morgan Gibbs-White was sold to Nottingham Forest, but the feeling was that the money was simply too good to turn down for player that is still unproven in the Premier League.
That sale should now be something of a benchmark for Wolves.
If Gibbs-White has been sold for an initial £25 million and it will likely rise to £35 million, and potentially even further to over £40 million, then Neto simply has to be sold for much more.
We are talking about a player with major potential.
Neto was outstanding practically every game for Wolves in the 2020/21 season before his knee injury.
He’s a bigger talent than Gibbs-White, and has higher potential. Wolves should therefore be looking to demand more than £50 million.
Also it is worth referencing back to the Diogo Jota deal.
Wolves sold him for £45 million. For Neto to leave for just £5 million more than that would feel slightly disappointing.
Wolves in strong position over Pedro Neto, amid interest from Arsenal
Wolves should probably be slapping a price tag of about £60-70 million on Neto.
Some will feel he’s not worth that. But ultimately, the club doesn’t need to sell, and the squad could be left a little short if he departs.
Neto signed a new deal with the club back in March and is under contract until 2027, which is another reason to demand a sky-high fee.
We also have to consider the timing of this interest from Arsenal.
There is now less than two weeks remaining in the transfer window.
It would be potentially be a major inconvenience to Wolves to offload Neto at this point in time.