Freddie Pye
Fan writer
Image source, Getty ImagesWhen Manchester City signed Matheus Nunes from Wolves at the end of the 2023 summer transfer window, not many supporters could have imagined his Etihad Stadium career going the way it has done so far.
There has been a clear lack of opportunities, uncertainty over where he is best suited within Pep Guardiola’s tactical blueprint, and concerns over whether we were about to see a similar situation to that experienced by Kalvin Phillips.
These are all subjects that continue to be mooted by City supporters, and even more so given the re-signing of Ilkay Gundogan and the integrations of James McAtee, Jacob Wright and Nico O’Reilly into the first-team set-up.
But City’s final match before the international break showcased exactly why there is plenty of hope and excitement still to be had about a player invested so heavily in over a year ago.
Nunes’ explosive pace and power over long strides on a football pitch is a trait that not many Manchester City players have, and perhaps one that has only been replicated by the likes of Kevin de Bruyne and Yaya Toure in recent times.
You may think it sounds ridiculous, but we are only talking about one very specific trait here, and one that even the club’s fastest current players are unable to showcase, including Jeremy Doku.
That has been an attribute of Nunes’ game that has been prevalent since he joined the club. The key problem has been grasping the responsibilities of playing in a Guardiola midfield. Knowing when to press, when to drop deep, when to keep hold of the ball, and when to distribute forward into attacking spaces. That said, Nunes’ last outing may have been a glimpse of things finally clicking into place.
Receiving the ball from Gundogan in a tight space inside his own half at London Stadium, the Portugal international was finally able to showcase his neat touches on the ball, his strength and power to dismiss of opposition players, before excellently finding Erling Haaland in space to run in behind and score to make it a second successive hat-trick.
That is the Nunes Manchester City still have in their ranks, and a clear reminder of the quality of player who can be looked towards for fresh impetus during the closing stages of tiring matches.
And with Guardiola and his players taking on additional responsibilities in the Carabao Cup and an expanded Champions League this month, balancing such challenges with a relentless Premier League schedule, there is no question that this could finally be Nunes’ time to shine.
A player Guardiola once labelled as “one of the best players in the world” could be perfect for positional variability and energy in this all-conquering and highly intelligent squad after all.
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