Fabrizio Romano says Liverpool are interested in signing £50m player compared to Phil Foden

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Liverpool are already looking ahead to the summer transfer window.

There’s still a big chunk left of what could yet be a glorious season for the Reds. They’re also currently dealing with the small matter of having to find a new manager and sporting director.

Nevertheless, planning for the future still has to go on. And according to journalist Fabrizio Romano, Liverpool will be there or thereabouts in the race to sign Wolves forward Pedro Neto.

“I’m only sure that Wolves’ Pedro Neto will be on the list of many clubs this June, not just Arsenal and Liverpool,” Romano says in his Daily Briefing column.

“The fee for him is not clear so far as Wolves are refusing to indicate a price. That will be discussed closer to the summer transfer window. Also, no one is leading the race as things stand, and that will become concrete and clearer around May/June.”

Neto on Liverpool’s list

It isn’t a surprise to hear that Liverpool are keen on taking Neto from Wolves. The 23-year-old has reportedly been on the Reds’ radar for a number of years already.

Injuries have disrupted his progress over the past couple of seasons, but there’s still a top player in there.

It was as recently as last October that Liverpool were said to be big fans of Neto. At that time, the Portugal international was just getting going on what has been a good campaign for him so far.

Eight assists and two goals in 14 Premier League games is a good little record. No wonder the bigger sides are queuing up for him. Back in 2021, Neto was even compared to Manchester City’s Phil Foden by former Liverpool defender Conor Coady.

“We were talking the other day and we were on about how he’s born in 2000 and we were putting him in the same category as Phil Foden,” Coady told Jamie Carragher’s Greatest Games via the Liverpool ECHO. “You look at how well he’s doing and then you look at the numbers Pedro is bringing up as well, and the assists and the goals and how he’s affecting games for Wolves. He’s an incredible player, absolutely incredible.”

Having said that, as a left-footed right winger, Neto would be tasked with filling the void left by Mohamed Salah, whenever that eventually comes.

If Salah is to leave this coming summer, then is the Wolves man really ready to step into that? Mo is of course a different prospect entirely, but the Egyptian has the same amount of assists as Neto this season while also plundering 13 more goals. They don’t compare.

Obviously, Liverpool can’t necessarily judge a Salah replacement on Salah himself. Few can come close to the 31-year-old. But perhaps you’d just like to see a little more output from Neto.

Valuations of the former Braga forward in 2022 put him at around £50m [Metro]. A couple of years on, it’s likely that Wolves would be looking for even more.

We like Neto and he could certainly be a good signing for Liverpool. But for this kind of price, we can’t help but feel happy with leaving him for the competition instead.