Chelsea weigh up Pedro Neto contingency as Man City circle for €63m winger

Pedro Neto is not being pushed out of Chelsea, but the club are preparing for the possibility that he asks to leave this summer. Reports on Tuesday indicated that Manchester City have contacted the winger's camp to gauge his interest in a move. Chelsea have not placed a valuation on the 26-year-old Portugal international, who retains the trust of head coach Xabi Alonso. Still, the west London club are making contingency plans in case Neto signals that he wants to join City. City have identified Neto as a potential replacement for Savinho, with the Brazilian winger attracting interest from Tottenham Hotspur. City are currently managed by Enzo Maresca, the coach who signed Neto during his spell in charge of Chelsea in August 2024. Neto arrived at Stamford Bridge from Wolverhampton Wanderers in a €63m (£54m) deal tied to a seven-year contract. In 103 appearances for Chelsea, he has scored 19 goals and won two trophies. The possibility of Neto moving on has added to a demanding summer for Alonso, who has already been backed with six new signings: Morgan Rogers, Maxence Lacroix, Marco Palestra, Danny Welbeck, Valentin Barco and Jordan Henderson. Geovany Quenda, Emmanuel Emegha, Denner and Dastan Satpaev have also joined through pre-arranged deals negotiated before Alonso was appointed in May. Chelsea are close to an agreement with Rayo Vallecano for left-back Pep Chavarria and remain keen to balance the squad. Marc Cucurella, Andrey Santos and Tyrique George have already departed permanently, while Alejandro Garnacho has joined Aston Villa on a season-long loan with a conditional obligation to buy at the end of the 2026-27 season. Trevoh Chalobah is also expected to leave, with reports suggesting a move to Serie A side Como worth up to €35m (£30m).