Maresca wants his man
Enzo Maresca wants to bring Pedro Neto to Manchester City. The manager worked with the Portuguese winger during his time at Chelsea and remains a big admirer. Sources confirm the interest is genuine and concrete.
Neto is not entirely untouchable at Stamford Bridge. Some figures at Chelsea have discussed letting him go if the right offer arrives. The expected fee sits around €80m.
Why City need another winger
The Blues are likely to sell Savinho this summer. Omar Marmoush has struggled for playing time and his future is in doubt. That leaves City short of options out wide, and Maresca sees Neto as a strong fit.
Liverpool have shown some interest in Neto too, though it is less strong for now.
Chelsea's summer spending
Chelsea have spent heavily again, most notably £117m on Morgan Rogers. That kind of outlay means sales will probably need to follow. Internal conversations at the club have been informal, but the message is clear: Neto can go if an acceptable bid comes in.
City are also expected to test the waters for Enzo Fernandez and Malo Gusto. Signing all three would be unlikely, but Neto remains the priority for Maresca.
"Pedro Neto is not entirely untouchable for Chelsea," one source told me. "There have been some informal discussions, internally, I should say, and they're all on board with letting him go if City or anyone else comes in with the right offer."
Selling to rivals
Chelsea have shown they will sell to Premier League rivals when the circumstances suit. Andrey Santos joined Manchester United this summer. Noni Madueke and Kai Havertz both left for Arsenal in recent years.
This is not yet at an advanced stage. But the groundwork is being laid, and Maresca is the driving force behind it.