Wolves appeared doomed before the 2023\/24 Premier League had even started. Julen Lopetegui\u2019s sacking days before the start of the campaign hinted at a club in bad shape, but the reality hasn\u2019t been as bad. Much of that has been down to the sparkling form of Pedro Neto.<\/p>\n
Few attacking players in the Premier League have been as consistent as Neto over the early part of the season. The 23-year-old has registered one goal and five assists in just eight appearances with Neto particularly eye-catching in Wolves\u2019 shock victory over last season\u2019s Treble winners, Manchester City.<\/p>\n
Neto\u2019s potential has been clear for a long time. He joined Wolves in the 2019 summer transfer window and has made over 100 appearances for the Molineux club in the time since. Inconsistency, however, has been an issue. This has changed this season, though. Neto has been a reliable difference-maker. His form has been sparkling.<\/p>\n
With just eight points from their first eight matches, Wolves still face a fight against relegation this season. Burnley, Luton Town and Sheffield might give Gary O\u2019Neill\u2019s team a cushion, with this season\u2019s three promoted teams unconvincing in their performances so far, but few expect Wolves to finish outside of the Premier League\u2019s bottom half.<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, Neto\u2019s dramatic improvement could make the difference for a team generally lacking cutting edge in the attacking third. Wolves have attacking talent – see Hwang Hee-chan and Matheus Cunha – but they don\u2019t have a centre forward they can count on for a haul of goals over the course of the season.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Neill needed one of his dynamic attackers to step up this season and Neto has managed this. The challenge for Wolves is to provide the Portuguese international with a platform to continue delivering over the full campaign. They need Neto to maintain the level he has set for himself over the first eight matches.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t see Pedro up close last season and he\u2019s suffered some injuries, but the upturn in his performances this season has been because he\u2019s fully committed to the work that we\u2019re doing, he\u2019s fully committed to how we\u2019re going to play and fully committed to how it\u2019s going to benefit him,\u201d said O\u2019Neill in a recent interview.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s attacked every training session with 100% commitment and you\u2019re starting to see the benefits. He will be hugely important for us, he\u2019s a fantastic player, hugely talented and he\u2019s working extremely hard without the ball as well as bringing big quality with it, so I\u2019m really pleased with Pedro.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last season, Neto was hindered by an ankle injury that sidelined him for five months. Even when the 23-year-old returned to action, he lacked match sharpness. This season, though, Neto has looked sharper than ever. He has become a leader on the pitch for Wolves at a time when they really needed one.<\/p>\n
Wolves have already established themselves as a club that can provide a springboard to even bigger and better things for players. Diogo Jota was a star at Molineux before he made the move to Liverpool to become an important member of Jurgen Klopp\u2019s squad there. Matheus Nunes joined Manchester City from Wolves this summer.<\/p>\n
Neto could be next to attract the attention of the Premier League\u2019s biggest clubs. His technical ability means he would be able to play at the elite level of the sport with his physicality another impressive element to his game. All this is coming to the fore for Wolves this season. If the Molineux club is to avoid relegation, they will need Neto to keep up his level.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Wolves appeared doomed before the 2023\/24 Premier League had even started. Julen Lopetegui\u2019s sacking days before the start of the campaign hinted at a club in bad shape, but the reality hasn\u2019t been as bad.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":54847,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[643],"tags":[272],"class_list":["post-55775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport","tag-featurehome"],"yoast_head":"\n