Why Pedro Neto’s ‘X-Factor’ will secure the survival of Wolves
Pedro Neto is undeniably back.
The scintillating Portuguese winger is the driving force behind Wolverhampton Wanderers’ assault once more. He’s now made five direct goal contributions this season (one goal, four assists), an astounding performance considering we’re only six games in and Wolves have only scored six goals.
His comeback from a serious ankle injury last season has been one of the feel-good tales of the Premier League season thus far. It caused him to lose five months of football, but because his March return was so erratic, he effectively missed the entire season. It wasn’t until the summer that he began to rediscover his form, shining for Portugal Under-21s at the European Championships.
That event frequently causes a delayed return and upsets players’ patterns, but if you’ve been away for months, then months attempting to recover sharpness and form, it could be just what you need to get back on track. Perhaps that was the catalyst for the spectacular, blazing start to 2023-24.
His confidence in carrying and dribbling with the ball has returned, a feature manager Gary O’Neil has quickly seized onto, relying on him both to drive Wolves up the pitch after long defensive stretches and to generate strong goalscoring scenarios when in the final third.
Some astounding statistics support those claims: He’s already carried the ball 1,630 yards this season, the third-most of any striker and trailing only Dejan Kulusevski and Bukayo Saka; and he’s carried the ball into the opposing penalty box 15 times, trailing just Marcus Rashford (18), Kulusevski (21) and Raheem Sterling (23) in that category.
Wolves look on Neto no matter where he is on the field, and he delivers.
⚽️ Pedro Neto has had a direct hand in each of Wolves' last 5 goals this season (1 goal, 4 assists) pic.twitter.com/oSyLEP239H
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) September 26, 2023
He’s a truly amazing player to witness in action, mixing power and quickness to develop a nearly unique dribbling technique. The fact that he’s entirely two-footed, a unique trait in football that makes you extremely difficult to defend against, helps both the attractiveness and efficacy of his movements.
To properly employ your two-footedness while dribbling, you must be able to transfer your body weight from side to side while being comfortable. It’s obvious that you’d be less successful if you’d had a serious ankle injury, so Neto taking some time to get back to his best shouldn’t come as a surprise.
He’s now back to his old self. He’s just waiting for the defender to bite and commit one way, then he goes the other way. If they drop off and give him some space, he whips in a vicious cross and threats in a different way, which has previously resulted in goals against Crystal Palace and Everton.
The club has promoted him to principal set piece taker in 2023 due to the quality of his delivery, with his inswinging corners and free-kicks just perfect for heading home – and he has a 6’7″ target in Saša Kalajdžić. Given that the profligacy of Wolves’ attackers has been a significant concern this season, the fact that he’s on four assists is credit to the type of chance he’s creating.
Neto is the Wolves’ MVP in the post-Ruben Neves era, their crown jewel in a time of tremendous team upheaval, the true attacking X-factor who can transform zero points into one, or even one into three. Early on, his creative numbers are among the best in the league, and his dribbling ability is difficult to match.
His fitness and form are crucial to the West Midlands club’s survival and, thus, stability in 2024.
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