Marina Granovskaia must use £32m smokescreen to unlock Chelsea's 'brilliant' Eden Hazard
heir
Chelsea must use the growing anticipation regarding the return of Pedro Neto as a smokescreen
to secure the heir to Eden Hazard's throne at Stamford Bridge.
The Wolves wonderkid, who has been tipped to grow into one of the Premier League's leading
forwards, stole the limelight as he christened his long-anticipated return from injury with
a short cameo off the bench against Leicester City.
As the fourth official tapped number seven into the electronic substitution board, Molineux
let out an almighty roar and the 21-year-old took centre stage, detracting from Daniel
Podence's match-winning display that likened the latter to Chelsea's former number ten.
Neto was given a King's welcome as his plaudits from the terraces, the TV studios and social
media raised the anchor on a summer transfer war that hands Thomas Tuchel a chance to finally
sign Hazard's replacement.
Chelsea has failed to replace the 31-year-old winger, who left the Blues in the summer of
2019 for the Real Madrid in a deal believed to be in excess of £100m, but Tuchel could
plug the Belgian's void by lurking in the shadows of Neto's growing notoriety.
The Portugal international, who is valued at £31.5m as per Transfermarkt, once attracted
the interest of Liverpool, Tottenham and Juventus prior to a broken kneecap injury that sidelined
him for ten months, according to 90min.
So, amid the growing excitement following his return, should Neto reignite his old form
and reach the heights that he's been tipped for, then the west Londoners must not get
on the bandwagon.
The hype around Neto could unlock the world champions a free run at signing Podence, who
was compared to Hazard on several occasions in Wolves' 2-1 win over the Foxes if Marina
Granovskaia looked to register interest.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Premier League all-time great Robbie Keane compared the Portugal international
to Hazard.
"I'm a massive fan of his.
He can use his right and left feet.
I honestly think there's another gear in this lad," he said.
"I think that there's a lot more to come from him.
He has a little bit of Hazard about him the way he plays."
Keane added by explaining how Podence could grow into a 'brilliant' replacement for the
Belgian, forecasting an exciting future for the Wolves forward.
"You'd hate to be a defender one-versus-one against him.
Yes, he plays like Hazard, but his numbers need to get better," he said.
"He needs to get more goals, more assists, but in terms of quality on the ball, he's
brilliant.
Really good to watch.
I think there's another gear in him."