Former Arsenal and Manchester City defender Bacary Sagna admits he ‘expected more’ from one in all Chelsea’s big-money summer signings.
Chelsea spent greater than £200m on latest signings last summer but FA Cup and League Cup winner Sagna has been ‘dissatisfied’ by the performances for Pedro Neto.
Portugal international Neto accomplished a £54m move from Wolves, putting pen to paper on a seven-year contract at Stamford Bridge.
The 24-year-old was a hugely influential figure at Molineux but has flattered to deceive at Chelsea, scoring two goals in 21 Premier League games.
Despite costing greater than £50m, Neto has began lower than half of Chelsea’s league matches as he faces intense competition from the likes of Jadon Sancho and Noni Madueke.
‘I definitely expected a bit more from Neto because he was such an exciting player at Wolves,’ ex-France international Sagna told Great Offshore Sportsbooks.
‘He’s gone from being the most important man at Wolves to simply one other good player at Chelsea, and sometimes it might be hard for a player to make that adjustment.
‘Don’t forget that Neto can also be a young player that continues to be improving, and he’s being asked to perform for a club where the expectations are so much higher.
‘I believe his performances have been quite good, but should you’re comparing his output to what he has produced season after season for Wolves then I believe you may have a right to be dissatisfied along with his numbers.
‘He’s a player that I actually like. I like his personality, his ability with the ball and his work rate. I’ve expected more from him because I do know he can deliver more, but there continues to be loads of time for him to register more goals and assists before the season ends.
‘Attacking players are all the time judged on their final output, he knows that.’
One other attacking player who has underwhelmed at Stamford Bridge is Joao Felix, who left Chelsea on loan towards the top of the January transfer window just six months after a £45m arrival from Atletico Madrid.
Discussing Felix following his move to Serie A side AC Milan, Sagna added: ‘With Joao Felix, his body language was not the most effective.
‘He has amazing quality, but possibly people shall be frustrated with how he looks on the pitch.
He joined a club where Cole Palmer is greater than clinical and in addition undroppable. He’s the most effective player within the Chelsea team.
‘It was all the time going to be difficult for Felix to be given opportunities consistently at Chelsea.’
Neto scored in fourth goal of the season in Chelsea’s 2-1 victory over London rivals West Ham earlier within the month.
But Chelsea’s inconsistent form since mid-December continued on the weekend as Maresca’s side were beaten 2-1 by Brighton to crash out of the FA Cup.
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