After Maresca left Chelsea, they drew 1-1 at Manchester City, and Sky Sports activities pundit Gary Neville singled out Neto for criticism.
“He pissed off me such as you will not consider,” Neville mentioned. “He is a smidgen away from being an Eden Hazard, however he is by no means going to be an Eden Hazard as a result of he hasn’t obtained that killer intuition.”
Neto solely scored 14 instances in 135 video games for Wolves earlier than his £54m transfer in August 2024 – averaging one aim each 9.6 matches. At Chelsea, he has 19 objectives in 89 video games, averaging one each 4.7.
These figures alone underline why it was all the time unrealistic to count on him to be one other Hazard, who netted 110 instances in 352 Chelsea matches.
Neto has just one help and no objectives in his previous 12 league video games, however he has 4 objectives and two assists in 4 home cup fixtures – albeit three of these matches had been towards decrease‑division opposition – to color a extra constructive image.
The 25-year-old is trying fewer photographs within the league this season – 1.7 per 90 minutes in contrast with 2.3 in 2024-25 – however is getting increased‑high quality possibilities, averaging 0.11 anticipated objectives per shot in comparison with 0.06. That shift explains why his conversion fee has virtually doubled, from 6.8% to 13.5%.
When it comes to output amongst gamers on the present high six golf equipment, Leandro Trossard, Bryan Mbeumo, Mohamed Salah, Morgan Rogers and Jeremy Doku all rank increased for non‑penalty objectives per 90 minutes.
However Neto is a unique sort of ahead, with solely 7% of his touches coming within the opposition field – fewer than any of the gamers above him.
The place he does excel at is ball-carrying, one thing he attributes to following his father and uncles into curler hockey as a baby. Among the many Premier League’s high six golf equipment, solely Doku ranks increased for carries. Neto can also be second solely to Mbeumo for sprints per 90 minutes.
One in all Neto’s standout performances got here towards Paris St-Germain within the 3-0 Membership World Cup ultimate win, when he man‑marked full‑again Achraf Hakimi.
One other was the evening Maresca shocked Barcelona boss Hansi Flick by deploying Neto as a striker, permitting him to use the Spanish aspect’s extraordinarily excessive line together with his tempo.
Most snug on the correct wing, Neto has been used as a striker, left winger, wing-back and quantity 10 for Chelsea this season.
These “sacrifices” for the workforce, as Rosenior known as it, make Neto extra corresponding to Willian than Hazard when searching for parallels from Chelsea‘s latest previous.
Alongside his fingers‑in‑ears and “cease speaking” celebrations, Neto was additionally seen arguing with Tottenham followers throughout Chelsea‘s 1-0 away win in November.
In an interview final season, Neto mirrored on his celebrations, saying: “Whenever you win you’re the finest and once you lose you’re the worst”.
Neto appears to easily dislike the scrutiny he receives however it has not stopped him, as he places it, “working” – serving to Chelsea and steadily enhancing his personal sport.
