Chelsea's latest transfer swoop for Pedro Neto may have put doubt into Manchester United's potential deal for Wolverhampton Wanderers star Joao Gomes.
A number of midfielders have been linked with a move to Old Trafford this summer and after interest in Manuel Ugarte cooled, United are working on different targets. In addition to Gomes, the likes of Sander Berge, Youssouf Fofana and Matthijs de Ligt are some of the names of interest.
Gomes caught the eye with his performances for Wolves, establishing himself as a regular starter for Gary O'Neil after joining from Flamengo last year. It is claimed the 23-year-old is one of the players being under consideration by Ineos and Dan Ashworth this summer.
READ MORE: Manchester United already know summer transfer plan isn't working and Cristiano Ronaldo proved it
READ MORE: £62.5m bid, Toney, Branthwaite - Man United's final summer transfer moves 'decided'
It's thought the midfielder could cost around £38million, with Wolves paying just £15m for his services.
Chelsea have agreed a fee worth £51m plus £2.6m in add-ons for the Portuguese winger who is set to become their tenth signing of the summer. Neto is set to undergo a medical 'soon' before completing a transfer to Stamford Bridge.
The Londoners summer spending is set to be more than £150m and above Aston Villa as the Premier League club with the biggest transfer outlay so far. As for Wolves, they have reinforced their squad with four signings thus far with Neto following former captain Max Kilman out of the door.
While no manager wants to lose their key players, O'Neil has hinted that Wolves would be willing to do business if replacements can be found. United may still be in with a chance to complete a swoop.
Speaking on the Wolves Poddy, he said: "We were aware of the Max Kilman stuff really early. Although it took some time to be concluded, we were in a position where we felt it would get done so we were able to do some bits before with Rodrigo [Gomes], Pedro [Lima] and Jorgen [Strand Larsen], we wouldn’t have done them without the Max Kilman stuff.
"With the financial situation, sometimes we have to wait for it to be done to get others. That’s the key with anyone that leaves, might be Pedro or anyone, if it’s with one minute to go in the window and we can’t replace them, he won’t be able to go. If anyone’s thinking of nicking our best players, we’re not going to let people leave unless we have good replacements that we can get in to help us."
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle for the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games this season, an increase of up to 100 more.
£35
Sky
