'Ridiculous!' - Joe Cole slams Chelsea's £100m price tag on Blues star

Cole was blunt in his assessment of the valuation, claiming that a fair fee for the Portuguese attacker would be roughly half of Chelsea's current price.

Speaking to Paddy Power, Cole said: "£100 million is just a bit of a ridiculous amount. The Saudis will probably pay it because money is no object to them, but I don’t think Manchester City would pay £100 million for Pedro Neto.

"I think there is a lot of Saudi money within the consortium that runs Chelsea, so who knows if Chelsea are holding out for £100 million knowing the Saudi’s will come calling. I don’t think a sensible football person pays £100 million for Pedro Neto. I value him at half of that, around £50-60 million."

Despite his firm criticism of the valuation, Cole maintains immense admiration for Neto's technical ability and work ethic on the pitch. He highlighted the Portuguese star's tactical flexibility as a major asset for any squad.

"I really like him as a player. He looks like a good fighter and real warrior," Cole explained. "He can play on the left and right, even wing-back if he’s needed there. Lots of qualities, an experienced Premier League player now too."

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