One position of trouble for Manchester United this season has been right-wing, here’s why Pedro Neto could cure all Erik ten Hag’s ailments.
Since the start of the 2023-24 season, Manchester United‘s wing options have mainly all failed to perform, with suspensions and other absences only adding to the plethora of issues in the position.
Down the left, United should be well covered with Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford both inevitably bound to find a vein of form soon. But on the right, the problems are more concerning with Antony seeming to be losing the support of Erik ten Hag week-on-week.
Facundo Pellistri has shown glimpses but is still too raw to be relied on as a regular. Due to this, Bruno Fernandes has been deployed as an unnatural right-winger, a role which doesn’t get the best from him or the team, so what does Ten Hag need to do?
The obvious solution is signing a new winger who has the qualities we know will succeed in the Premier League, that’s why Pedro Neto needs to become a top target.
Here are three reasons United need to rival Liverpool and Arsenal for Neto’s signature…
Neto is Premier League proven for Wolves
A massive issue that recent signings such as Antony and Jadon Sancho have brought is an unfamiliarity with the Premier League. Antony arrived in 2022 from a league vastly different in the Eredivisie and still hasn’t adapted.
Sancho likewise arrived from the Bundesliga, where the demands and style is very different to the Premier League, and he has had two full seasons of struggles following his move.
Neither of these two wingers are direct or quick which is a rather important set of qualities that United currently lack, given Ten Hag aims to play transition football. One player who doesn’t lack this is Neto, who is as direct as they come in the division.
Neto is proven in the Premier League and has been on fire this season, with seven assists and a goal for Wolves already despite being injured a few weeks ago.
Neto wouldn’t cost a fortune
Considering some of the ludicrous fees which United have spent on wingers in recent years, a £50 million move for the Premier League top assister seems more than reasonable.
This fee is also likely to be offset by the probable sale of Sancho as Juventus remain interested in the Englishman, along with Saudi Arabian clubs. While Sir Jim Ratcliffe will likely be keen on making his mark straight away.
Neto also probably wouldn’t cost a lot on the wage bill, currently earning £50k-a-week at Wolves and it would be a surprise to see that rise too far north of £100k-a-week at United.
A different player to anyone currently at United
The main selling point behind Neto is that he is a player who currently doesn’t exist at Old Trafford. The Portuguese international doesn’t rely on link-up play and can dribble the length of the pitch before putting the ball on a plate for others to score.
With boundless creativity and so direct, Neto is perfect for this current transition based United side.
He is the type of winger Sir Alex Ferguson would love to have and Rasmus Hojlund will love to play with. A gamechanger for United, which is why he needs to be targeted in January.
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