Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp spent the summer transfer window reshaping and restoring his side's midfield after a challenging campaign but now appears to be turning his attention toward the frontline.
The Premier League giants are still lacking a specialist No. 6 and that is something that will be resolved; similarly, the Reds refrained from bolstering a backline that shipped 47 goals during the 2022/23 league season – a large factor behind the failure to qualify for the Champions League.
Again, this will be sorted, but such issues have not stopped Klopp from registering an interest in a dynamic forward currently riding the richest vein of form of his career, and while the Anfield side yields an impressive clutch of options, his acquisition would actually make a lot of sense.
Who could Liverpool sign in January?
According to Liverpool reporter Neil Jones, Wolverhampton Wanderers winger Pedro Neto has attracted the attention of some of the Premier League's most esteemed outfits following a fine start to the campaign, and the Reds are among the interested parties.
Jones penned his thoughts on a prospective move and claimed that the 23-year-old would be a good fit, especially considering the inevitability that Mohamed Salah will leave the club at some point.
This follows news from Football Transfers' Steve Kay, who confirmed that Liverpool are considering lodging a bid, though the Old Gold would likely only entertain his sale if their £50m valuation was met.
With fellow title-chasers Arsenal also interested, the race for the Portuguese ace's signature could really heat up as the winter transfer window draws closer.
How good is Pedro Neto?
Liverpool are attracted by the possibility of signing Neto due to his expansive attacking ability, physical strengths and intelligence in fashioning openings, both as a direct threat and as a creative component.
Praised for his "incredible" performances by his manager Gary O'Neil, Neto is finally coming into his own after signing for Wolves from Italian side Lazio in an £8m double deal with Bruno Jordao in 2019, having endured a torrid time over the past few seasons.
Indeed, Neto has been plagued with injuries that have restricted him to a peripheral role after dazzling in 2020/21, clinching just three direct goal contributions across the subsequent two Premier League campaigns, but that has changed emphatically this term.
Season
Apps
Goals
Assists
G/A Rate
23/24
8
1
5
0.75
22/23
18
0
1
0.05
21/22
13
1
1
0.15
20/21
31
5
6
0.35
19/20
29
3
3
0.20
Now, it's early into the season of course, but Neto is demonstrating a refined cutting edge to his game that bespeaks a new level of maturity and intelligence, a freshly-charged explosiveness that has sent the Premier League into a furore.
With a goal and five assists – which is the joint-highest in the division – the fleet-footed dynamo is thriving as the chief creator in the squad, playing on the right flank and actually grabbing the assist for Hwang Hee-chan's early goal against Liverpool in September.
Arsenal are indeed also said to be pursuing Neto's signature and will make Liverpool's life hard in waging transfer battle for the thriving Portugal ace, but putting effort into winning the race would undoubtedly be worthwhile.
Aside from Salah, Liverpool's options on the right flank are somewhat thin, Ben Doak is a precocious talent but alas is only 17, while Harvey Elliott knows the role but does not offer the kind of threat to serve there with regularity.
Neto has seemingly found his best position in the right wing, and given that he is starting to demonstrate his abilities as a force to be reckoned with, it might be the apt move to make.
Liverpool have already demonstrated the worth of raiding Molineux for offensive phenoms, with Diogo Jota joining in a £41m deal in 2020 and since plundering 45 goals and 17 assists from 122 matches.
Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad fiercely pursued Salah's signature during the closing weeks of the summer transfer window and even presented a £150m proposal at the death, though this was swiftly rejected by Klopp's side.
However, his contract expires in 2025 and if no resolution is found then it is more than plausible that the current campaign is Salah's last on English shores, and Neto could be signed to serve in his stead.
How does Pedro Neto compare to Mohamed Salah?
Replacing a world-class sensation such as Salah is not an enviable task, and it would be a fool's notion to target a player such as Neto and declare them the heir to the Egyptian's Anfield throne.
Quite simply, Salah is one of Liverpool's greatest players and is among the finest forwards to ply their trade in the Premier League, with his exploits leading Michael Owern to proclaim him as "one of the greatest of all time".
Across 315 outings for the Merseyside outfit, the 88-cap star has scored 192 goals and supplied 83 assists, with a goal contribution rate that astoundingly sits at 0.87 – for reference, Fernando Torres' at Liverpool is 0.71.
This season, he has already posted six goals and four assists from his first ten appearances, offering a more creative angle to his game with the likes of Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz offering a direct offensive threat.
The 31-year-old has created nine big chances from just eight Premier League matches at a rate of 2.1 key passes per match, as per Sofascore, and while his prodigious talents are irreplaceable, Neto could hold the blueprint to emulating his level of supplementation.
Indeed, this season the £50k-per-week Wolves whiz has created five big chances in the top-flight at rate of 2.5 per game, also completing 83% of his passes – leading talkSPORT's Gabby Agbonlahor to laud his "blistering pace."
Producing a steadier stream of support than a player of Salah's ilk, and for a midtable Wolves team, is an impressive feat and a testament to Neto's burgeoning ability.
Still within the early phase of his career, Neto is starting to shine at the heart of a goal-shy Wolves outfit that is fighting for survival.
While it's true that this cohesive outfit's chink in the armour is found in the attacking impetus, Neto has had a direct hand in six of the nine goals scored thus far – that's 66%.
Placed in a Liverpool side boasting an offensive body with a whetted cutting edge, Neto could make the increments to his game that would only enhance the efforts of his peers.
For a player boasting more prolific creativity than Salah, this would only be a promising move for Klopp's side, and given that the 5 foot 8 phenom now plies his trade most regularly on the right side of the attack, he is the perfect counterweight to work in flux, maintaining the dynamism that is pumping life into Liverpool's attack once more.
