Chelsea star Pedro Neto nearly joined Man Utd as ex-coach details breakthrough moment

Chelsea star Pedro Neto once came close to joining Manchester United. Now Enzo Maresca's flying £54million winger is looking to go one better than the Red Devils - by securing qualification and lifting European silverware.

"I'd be so happy if he wins the Conference League," says Jose Carvalho Araujo, the former Braga youth coach that first discovered Neto. "It's always good to win titles, especially a European trophy.

"It's the dream of any player, first to reach this level and then to achieve success. But also, Pedro has had a few bad moments with serious injuries and he's displayed a strong mentality to come back stronger."

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Chelsea's top-five hopes hang in the balance ahead of their crunch final-day showdown at .

However, if the big-spending Blues get themselves over the line, Neto's late firecracker at on Easter Sunday will be remembered as the goal that changed the trajectory of not only Chelsea's season but Maresca's tenure.

Araujo insists the 25-year-old still plays with the same explosiveness and ferocity that he displayed as a teenager when catching the eye of United.

The Portugal international was even invited to Carrington to participate in an academy match, there was also interest from , but a deal never materialised.

Araujo continued: "We always felt that Pedro was different, he still shows the same fire and passion that he did back then.

"There was always a scout, Vasco Noronha, hanging around Braga and at the time, we never really knew who he was watching but it was probably Pedro. His rise was so fast and everybody was always talking about him. He was a very humble kid, very funny and he was always having fun."

Araujo takes immense pride in the role he played in Neto's development. He still remembers the day he first identified the winger as a potential superstar like it was yesterday.

He added: "Benfica, Porto and Sporting had academies all across the country. At Braga we had a strategy where every weekend, the youth coaches would pick one or two matches to look at players.

"I went to Viana do Castelo, a town about 50km away from Braga to watch a Sporting academy game. I was looking at an old player I knew and saw Pedro, a kid that was captain of an U15 team despite only being 13.

"He was super talented, ambitious and easy to spot because he stood out. He showed courage, technique and intensity, the best player on the team.

"After watching a few more matches, we asked Pedro's parents if he'd come to Braga for trials and within two days, he was there. Pedro's parents said 'he's been at Sporting three years and they've never said anything'.

"When he was in the U17s, he really started to take off, he matured and his performances went to another level. It wasn't long before he broke into the first team, he scored just minutes into his senior debut and the rest was history."

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