Chelsea transfer news: Pedro Neto update provided amid role change, Reece James incident

Xabi Alonso said "let's see what happens" when quizzed on the future of Chelsea winger Pedro Neto.

The Portugal international came off the substitutes' bench as the Blues recorded a 3-2 victory over Fulham on Monday night.

However, speculation persists that Neto remains a player who could potentially leave Stamford Bridge before the end of the summer transfer window.

Neto has been linked with the likes of Manchester City and Al-Hilal, albeit a move to the latter likely off the table due to their efforts to sign Arsenal's Gabriel Martinelli.

Furthermore, the 26-year-old is being played out of position at wing-back, while he received criticism for firing back at captain Reece James against Fulham after he had been lambasted for failing to track back when Fulham were going forward.

Alonso addresses Neto Chelsea future

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Alonso suggested that the former Wolverhampton Wanderers star was not certain to remain at Chelsea.

The Spaniard told reporters: "Well, about conversations, not [going too] much into detail, but we want to have the best possible squad and let's see what happens."

On Neto's role in the team, he had previously replied: "Wing-back, winger, you can call it whatever you want, but the main thing is the quality of the players, that they adjust and that we have balance with the players around.

"That makes sense, that makes the team better and that's always my main focus, that the team is better with the qualities and knowing the best quality of each individual player."

Neto is currently expected to start when Chelsea play host to Luton Town in the EFL Cup second round on Thursday night.

Should Chelsea keep Neto?

When everyone is fit, it appears clear that Neto will not have a place in Alonso's 3-4-2-1 formation.

That may change if he switches to a 4-2-3-1, but Neto is currently not viewed as the first-choice pick that he once was.

Chelsea are said to value him in the region of £100m, which may effectively end any interest in his signature.

Nevertheless, if Chelsea receive upwards of £80m, a sale should come under consideration, with BlueCo still making a substantial profit in that scenario.

With Neto still having five years remaining on his contract, though, his value will not decrease in the short term.