Injuries could have put clubs off Neto deal - O'Neil
Pedro Neto made his full Chelsea debut against Servette on Thursday
- Published
Wolves boss Gary O'Neil believes Pedro Neto could have landed a bigger move this summer without his previous injury issues.
The winger joined Chelsea for 拢54m earlier this month and will make a rapid return to Molineux with the Blues in the Premier League on Sunday.
Neto suffered two separate hamstring injuries which saw him miss almost four months of last season - problems which O'Neil feels possibly denied him a move to a Champions League club.
"The important thing for him now is being able to play week in, week out," he said.
"I always felt he was unfortunate with injuries, he never struck me as injury prone. That will be a question mark around him at the moment.
"It's not one I'd be concerned about, which is why I was desperate to keep him and play him every week, but you can understand that may have had an impact in the summer.
"But he can definitely play at any club in world football. His talent, work ethic and physical attributes allow him to play at whatever level he wants."
Neto, who has taken Raheem Sterling's number seven shirt at Chelsea, made his first start in the 2-0 Conference League win over Servette on Thursday.
The 24-year-old made a second-half substitute appearance in the 2-0 defeat by Manchester City on Sunday.
His move to Chelsea came after five years at Molineux, having joined from Lazio, and he made 135 appearances for Wolves, scoring 14 goals.
O'Neil added: "He is one of the best out-and-out wide players in world football. What he can do one-v-one, his explosive pace, what he can do when he arrives there, it allows him to do things not many players can do. It was an emotional goodbye.
"He loved it here - his time before I was here and how well it went for him last season on the pitch."