By Samuel Olusegun Precious
Chelsea winger Pedro Neto has drawn comparisons to former Super Eagles winger,Victor Moses following his reinvention in a new-look Chelsea side under manager Xabi Alonso.
Just as they did 10 years ago, Chelsea are thriving after moving a winger into a wing-back role, with Neto the latest player to benefit. A decade ago, it was Nigerian international Victor Moses who made the switch, adapting to Antonio Conte’s then-innovative 3-4-3 system and helping Chelsea to a 13-match winning run en route to the Premier League title in 2017.
Under Alonso, history appears to be repeating itself at Cobham. Neto, 26, who joined Chelsea from Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2024, has embraced the demanding role under Alonso, balancing rigorous defensive tracking with explosive counter-attacking duties.
The Portuguese international scored twice last week in Chelsea’s 2-0 win away at Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium — a brace that secured the Blues’ first clean sheet in 22 Premier League games.
Speaking after the game, Neto laughed off the nickname.”Oh my God, don’t call me that too. The new Pedro Neto!” he told The Times. “I’ll be honest with you, I heard a little bit of that. I think he was under Conte? You can call it whatever you want. Even with other coaches, I always had this mentality of helping my full back. I want to win. I want to do the best for the team.”
Manager Xabi Alonso has alternated between using Neto as a traditional right winger and as a right wing-back, with the tactical flexibility giving Chelsea the option to switch between possession-heavy build-up and rapid vertical transitions.
Analysts say that both Moses and Neto utilized exceptional physical conditioning and tactical obedience to cement their starting roles during periods of heavy squad transition.
Neto said: “The role that I have with Xabi is this one — to do the most I can to help the team to attack, to defend. If we do a fast attack, I have to run like crazy and then I would arrive and I’m dead.”
Chelsea’s new system currently sees Neto listed as a RW but operating as a wing-back alongside Josh Acheampong, Maxence Lacroix and Levi Colwill in a back three, with Jordan Henderson and Moises Caicedo in midfield.
With his recent form — rated 10/10 against Everton — Neto has turned his Chelsea career around and could be vital to the Blues’ top-four ambitions this season.
