While sporting director Matt Hobbs admits he was emotional saying goodbye to Pedro Neto, he believes the move to Chelsea has come at the right time.
On Friday morning the 24-year-old departed Compton Park for the final time, having said goodbye to the people and place he’s called home for the past five years, ahead of a new challenge at Stamford Bridge.
Hobbs himself found it a tough parting, but reiterated the deal is good business for the football club and he and head coach Gary O’Neil will now continue the extensive work going into creating a Wolves squad which is competitive without Neto this coming season.
On a tough departure
“It’s a hard one to talk about because I was really close to Pedro, and he was such a good person to have around the training ground. Everyone knows the player he is – he’s a world class winger who has been so unlucky with injuries, so we’ll miss him on the pitch obviously, but also around the training ground with his energy and the relationship he had with so many people.
“It was a tough one, but it felt fair because of what Pedro had been through, with the various injuries, and it’s a great opportunity for him. The deal is one that works for us and Pedro, but by no means does it make it any easier.
“The reason we get players like Pedro is because this is our model and not everyone will love that, but we can take so much credit for the way we bring players in, the way we look after them, the love they develop for the football club, and the clubs they’re moving on to, for the fees they are. Whilst it’s disappointing for us, because everyone wants world class players, timing wise, it felt like the right time.”
On Pedro saying his goodbyes
“As hard as it was for us, I think it was probably harder for Pedro. Tears all morning at the training ground – I don’t think Pedro wanted to leave Wolverhampton Wanderers, and I’ve spoken to him since and he’ll always love the club. But it felt like an opportunity for him that he couldn’t turn down and a deal for us we couldn’t turn down.
“Pedro gets to go and compete in European football – Chelsea, with the amount of money they spend, have to be under pressure for titles and Champions League football. So, he’ll get that opportunity, but nobody should think this was easy for Pedro. For me, it was right for everyone, but also really upsetting for everyone.”
On good business for the club
“For the club, it’s the right deal at the right time. It’s hard when it’s someone everyone has so much affinity for as a person to look at it as a business, but football is a business and it was the right timing and the right deal, so from that perspective, the football club are happy. Whilst it happened quickly, it was widely known there was interest and we tried to construct something previously, so this was nothing new to us.”
On working to replace Neto
“We’ve been working on options and on targets and that work keeps going, but we do that work for every position in the team because, like this, you never know when an offer comes, which for the football club you can’t turn down. The work’s underway, me and Gary have sat down several times since, but we were sitting down beforehand and talking about it because I think we thought there was a good chance this would happen this summer.
“We had a busy start [to the window] and a bit of a lull whilst everything settled down. The window’s been a funny window. It’s been pretty quiet, so I think once a couple of big transfers happen within the Premier League, and there’s some money available, you’ll start to see a bit more happening.
“It’s safe to say the next couple of weeks we’ll all be working tirelessly to make sure when get to the end of the window, we’re happy with the squad we’ve got and it’s as well balanced as we can make it, and we give support for the players here who’ve been brilliant in pre-season and the tools for Gary and his staff that they need.”
