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

Cole has strongly questioned the Blues' optimistic £100 million valuation of winger Neto. The former England international believes that the club's price tag is completely unrealistic for top European suitors. The Portuguese international continues to generate transfer speculation. However, Cole insists Stamford Bridge chiefs have set their asking price far higher than the player's true market value.

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."

With the Premier League season commencing tomorrow night, Chelsea must now decide whether to keep holding out for a £100 million buyer or focus on integrating Neto into their first-team plans.