Sporting Lisbon star Matheus Nunes will turn down Wolverhampton Wanderers in the summer after rejecting a January transfer to Newcastle United, according to A Bola.
Pep Guardiola can often get a bit carried away when discussing the talents of an opposition player – as Nathan Redmond may attest – but his gushing praise for Portugal international Nunes is certainly worth repeating as the race for his signature heats up.
Ahead of Man City’s crushing Champions League victory over Sporting last month, Guardiola described the prancing playmaker as ‘one of the best players in the world today’.
Now, if he’d said ‘tomorrow’ rather than ‘today’, Pep’s praise might have rang that little bit more true.
Nunes certainly has the potential to become ‘one of the best’ midfielders on the continent. He’s creative, commanding and blindingly quick. But he’s not there yet, despite forcing his way into the Portugal squad ahead of the Qatar World Cup after helping Sporting win their first Primeira Liga title in two decades.
Will Pep Guardiola sign Matheus Nunes for Man City?
It won’t come as a surprise to learn that Manchester City have held talks with Los Leoes about a deal that could see Nunes arrive at the Etihad during the summer transfer window (A Bola).
It there is one manager capable of transforming the 23-year-old into ‘one of the best players in the world’, it’s a man who has dominated arguably Europe’s most competitive division with Oleksandr Zinchenko and Fabian Delph filling in at left-back.
According to A Bola, Nunes has told his agent that he will only leave Sporting for an elite-level club capable of fighting for silverware abroad. Manchester City, for instance.
That is why he appears to have little interest in a £33 million move to Molineux, despite the presence of a highly Iberian-influenced dressing room.
Nunes, who also turned down a move to Newcastle for a similar reason in January, has been identified by Wolves as part of a succession plan. Both Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho are facing uncertain futures in the Black Country after all (Athletic).
Wolves are also keen on Nunes’ Sporting team-mate Joao Palhinha. The midfield colossus is a long-time target for the men from Molineux.
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