For almost a month, Arsenal have reportedly been in contact with Jorge Mendes, the representative for Wolves winger Pedro Neto.
The 22-year-old Portuguese international is a possible loan replacement for Nice’s Nicolas Pepe.
David Ornstein qualifies his story by saying that Arsenal needs to be careful about adhering to Premier League and UEFA FFP guidelines after spending heavily against the backdrop of a financially tough couple of years, an issue that @SwissRamble discusses at length this morning.
After three years with Nuno Espirito Santo and Bruno Lage, Neto is still an integral part of the Wolves’ first team after coming over from Lazio.
He’s played 95 times in front of the Molineux faithful, racking up 12 assists and 11 goals along the way. He worked his way through the Braga system and then spent a year on loan with Lazio before making the big step to England.
His primary position last year was as a left winger, but he also saw action in the middle of the field and up front. That he can play multiple positions effectively is a trait shared by many of Arteta’s recent transfer targets.
Before Barcelona came in with their ridiculous offer for Raphinha, Arsenal was willing to spend roughly £45 million on him earlier in the summer.
While Arsenal’s stance on’super agent’ Mendes has mellowed in the post-Arsene Wenger era (Mendes was instrumental in bringing Fabio Vieira to Arsenal), we still anticipate significant difficulties in finalizing this deal. Wolves are in a powerful position to play hardball, and time is of the key.
Given that Arteta has been very vocal about wanting to “add additional firepower” to the squad, we wouldn’t be shocked to see other names connected in the final 10 days of the season.