While a host of players in and around Europe have been speculated with making a switch to the Etihad Stadium this summer, Sporting CP midfielder Matheus Nunes has seemed like one of the select few names who may well have been set for a move to Manchester City ahead of the coming season.
Pep Guardiola arguably made the Portugal international a household name amongst football fans across the globe in recent months, after making the bold suggestion that Matheus Nunes was ‘one of the best players in the world’ after Manchester City competed against Sporting in the Champions League knock-out stages last season.
In addition, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano stated as recently as in May that Nunes was a part of Manchester City’s three-man midfield shortlist at the time, that also included the likes of Manchester United's Paul Pogba and Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong.
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Despite Manchester City clearly holding an admiration for the Portuguese international, as a midfielder that perhaps has all the tools to sign for them at some stage in the future, the player’s most recent revelation may be an insight that he plans to continue his stay at Lisbon.
“My goal is to fulfil the contract (until 2026)”, he told Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manhã.
Matheus Nunes continued, “I have a contract with Sporting. There is no point transferring me. I’m happy at Sporting. The Portuguese league is a great league.”
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With the 23-year old’s emergence as one of the most promising number eights in Europe since his move to Sporting in 2019, it looks likely that the Premier League champions may be set to miss out on the signing of a player that could profile as a successor to Ilkay Gundogan - who has been heavily linked with an exit recently.
However, with speculation around Pep Guardiola’s side targeting the addition of Leeds United and England international talisman Kalvin Phillips, their focus may well have shifted towards signing a replacement for Fernandinho that could play second fiddle to Rodri next season.
Ultimately, it is largely impossible to find a club as systematic as Manchester City in the transfer market, which indicates that they may have either found an alternative to Matheus Nunes, or are simply not prioritising the signing of more of an attack-minded central midfielder at present.
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Topics: Manchester City, Premier League, Transfers
Srinivas Sadhanand