Chelsea star earns Barcelona transfer interest despite 6/10 Champions League showing

Chelsea blew Barcelona away with a statement 3-0 win over the La Liga giants in the Champions League on Tuesday night, suggesting that the Blues may have the credentials to go all the way in the competition.

Willian Estevao and Marc Cucurella were two of Enzo Maresca’s men who stole the show under the lights at Stamford Bridge but it appears that Barcelona may have been impressed by a Blues teammate who had a much quieter match.

Since the 3-0 defeat, the Catalan club have been linked with transfer interest in Pedro Neto. The winger has been enjoying an impressive second season in west London.

Pedro Neto rated 6/10 for midweek Chelsea outing

Neto was rated just a 6/10 for his exploits in midweek by Goal, but that is not representative of his campaign so far. The outlet wrote: “He was less effective on the ball than his team-mates, but made plenty of piercing runs in behind the Barcelona backline. Had one big chance in the first half that he blazed over and another from a driving run in the second.”

Chelsea paid £51 million to sign Neto from Wolves in the summer of 2024 and he’s looking worth that fee this term. The winger is one of Maresca’s most reliable options and has four goals across all competitions this season, including two in his last two league outings against Wolves and Burnley. Just last month, Maresca said: “He’s top, he's very humble and working hard.

“He's a very important player for us, and we are very happy with Pedro. He's exactly the same as other players – he needs to be always 100 per cent, because in the moment that you drop a little bit, mentally or physically, in this league, it's complicated.”

Barcelona credited with transfer interest in Neto

It’s therefore perhaps no surprise to see Football Insider this week reporting that Barcelona hold a transfer interest in the winger. However, the report adds that the Blues had ‘no plans’ to let Neto leave ‘any time soon’ - the player is contracted at Stamford Bridge until 2031.

Former Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers scout Mick Brown told the outlet: “I’ve heard talk that Barcelona might be looking at him or whoever else, but as far as Chelsea are concerned, he’s still a very important part of their plans. “It would have to be a big, big offer for him and even then I’m not sure they’d let him go.

“Of course there will be players in that squad who they look to move on, it’s how they operate at Chelsea, but by all accounts Neto will not be one of them.”

In other news, Chelsea v Arsenal team news with 3 doubts and 6 outs as Mikel Arteta handed fresh blow.