Jamie Carragher points finger at Liverpool for allowing Chelsea to sign 'special talent'
Chelsea have had yet another busy summer after appointing Enzo Maresca as manager, while rivals Liverpool have allowed Arne Slot to persist with the existing squad
Jamie Carragher was left frustrated by Chelsea's signing of Pedro Neto, having felt his former club Liverpool would have been perfect for the Portuguese winger.
Neto joined Chelsea from Wolves as the Blues' most expensive summer signing. The £54m man made his debut for the club on Sunday, coming off the bench in a 2-0 defeat against reigning champions Manchester City.
Chelsea have made several new signings for Enzo Maresca, but Liverpool haven't given their own new boss Arne Slot the same resources. Ex-Feyenoord boss Slot appears happy with his squad, though Giorgi Mamardashvili could become his first signing since taking charge.
Liverpool raided Wolves for Diogo Jota back in 2020, with Neto stepping up in his absence. Another Molineux swoop wasn't forthcoming this summer, though, and Carragher made his feelings clear.
"The reason I’ve chosen him is because I think, but for injuries, I think this is a player that could play for the best teams in the world – I really do believe that," Carragher told Sky Sports when assessing impact signings from Premier League clubs. "He’s a player I have always watched for Wolves in the last three or four years, who I’ve always thought, ‘I’d love Liverpool to sign him’.
"I just look at him, the pace and the quality on the ball, he scores goals, and I just hope he stays fit. My only worry is that he is best on the right, cutting in on that left foot - probably where Cole Palmer likes to play as well.
"But I think if Chelsea could keep him fit, I think he’s a special talent and he’s a player that I love to watch, and I actually get down a little bit when I hear he’s injured, even though Wolves are not my team. So yeah, I'd love to see him stay fit as I think he's one of the top players in the Premier League when he's fit."
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Despite starting the season with a defeat, Chelsea boss Maresca saw some positives from the opening weekend. "We don’t like to lose but I thought the performance was there," the Italian said. We competed against the best team in the world and we competed for large parts at the same level and in some moments were even better.
"We created chances and I think the big difference between us and them was especially in the box and the way they managed the ball in the last parts of the game but they are masters at that.Overall, I think our performance was quite good."
Chelsea and new signing Neto have a chance to kick-start their season on Thursday when they take on Servette in the first leg of their Europa Conference League play-off. After that comes their second league game of the season, with Neto taking on his former club at Molineux.
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