The reasoning behind Man City's desire to sign Matheus Nunes

 

Matheus Nunes may have already played his final game for Wolves. The Portuguese midfielder was dismissed late on as Gary O'Neil's side fell to a comprehensive 4-1 loss to Brighton on Saturday, and will miss the potential relegation six-pointer with Everton this weekend as a result. As such, it's a potentially sour end to his short spell with the Premier League side. The 24-year-old joined from Sporting CP last summer, in what was viewed as a bit of coup for Wolves. 

 

Yet in the final knockings of the summer transfer window, Manchester City are believed to be interested in landing Nunes. It's been reported that City have already had a bid rejected for the Portugal international, though the Premier League champions are expected to up the ante before next week's deadline. It's no secret that City are looking to bring in another central midfielder before the transfer window closes. 

 

Mateo Kovacic helped to ease Ilkay Gundogan's exit, but with Kevin De Bruyne now sidelined until January, at the earliest, City are exploring their options in the market. Lucas Paqueta was earmarked as a potential target, though the deal was called off last week due to off-field issues relating to the Brazil international. 

 

Nunes and Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze have since emerged as the top targets for City, with it now clear the profile of player Pep Guardiola's side are targeting. While the pair are a little different to Paqueta, it's obvious that City are looking to land a versatile driving force to round out their summer business. 

 

With Palace rightly demanding a huge fee for Eze, Nunes looks to have emerged as the top target at the Etihad Stadium. City will have watched Nunes, and Wolves, carve United open with ease on the opening weekend of the season, and they will have been suitably impressed by what they saw. Of course, United made it easy for Wolves given the gulf of space in the middle of the park with the ageing Casemiro tasked with beefing up the midfield. 

 

However, even considering the late red card and heavy defeat against Brighton, Nunes still impressed. Having completed six dribbles against United, he went on to complete five against the Seagulls, while in two appearances so far, Nunes has made six interceptions and three tackles, helping to reinforce a statistically calculated WhoScored strength of 'defensive contribution'. 

 

 

This hard work out of possession will be one of the key reasons behind City's interest in Nunes. As is so often the case, Guardiola likes his City side to work best as the collective to minimise any opposition goal threats. They rank bottom for possession won in the defensive third since the start of the 2022/23 Premier League season, but fourth for possession won in the midfield third (993) and top for the attacking third (232) over the same period. 

 

The low return for the defensive third will be simply down to their dominance of the Premier League. They rank top for possession, and concede the fewest shots per 90, so rarely need to win the ball back from opponents in defence. Rather, they look to press high up the pitch when they do not have the ball, which is why they win possession higher up the field, and this suits Nunes. 

 

Since the start of the 2022/23 Premier League campaign, Nunes ranks third for possession won in the midfield third (74) and second in the attacking third (17) for Wolves over the same period. He's used to working hard off the ball and in key areas of the pitch as far as City are concerned, while he's a functional central midfielder that will abide by the demands of his head coach. No wonder Guardiola rates him highly. 

 

Nunes doesn't necessarily pull up any trees, but he does the basics of a central midfielder to a good standard. A hard worker off the ball, with adept close control while in possession and more than capable of using either foot, Nunes would be a good fit for this City side. An issue, though, would be a lack of attacking output. The Portuguese star has been directly involved in just two league goals, scoring one, since his move to Wolves last season. 

 

Ask any Wolves fan, and a huge problem for O'Neil's side is an inability to put the ball in the back of the net, so this isn't a stick with which to beat Nunes, but for a side that lost clutch midfielder Gundogan over the summer, and a City outfit without De Bruyne for months now, an additional goal threat from midfield would be welcomed, which may be why Guardiola's side were keen on Paqueta and linked with Eze. 

 

Yet a key aspect of Nunes' game is that he will help bring control to this City side, and it's this that Guardiola craves. You won't see Nunes make lung-busting runs to take on multiple players to help peg opponents back in the same vain as incoming Belgian winger Jeremy Doku, but rather to work his way out of tight situations. He can pick out a teammate well, too, and while his pass success rate for Wolves is in the mid-to-low 80s, this can be attributed to Wolves seeing far less of the ball than City by comparison. It's a figure that would undoubtedly rise at the Etihad Stadium. 

 

Guardiola has previously described Nunes as "one of the best players in the world" this despite Sporting losing 5-0 to City in the Champions League back in 2022. Wolves will resist any temptation to sell Nunes, yet when City do come calling, few turn down the chance to ply their trade for the European champions. Indeed, the midfielder's next Premier League appearance could well come for City.

The reasoning behind Man City's desire to sign Matheus Nunes