Pep Guardiola is said to still have faith in one Manchester City player despite his struggles in 2023/24.
Last season was another successful one for City, as they won a fourth straight Premier League title.
It ended disappointingly with the defeat to Manchester United in the FA Cup final. But the club also picked up the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup.
To have won three more trophies, after winning the Treble in 2022/23, is certainly not bad going.
Many players had great seasons for City last term, but one man who didn’t pull up too many trees was Matheus Nunes.
Nunes signed from Wolves for £53 million on deadline day last summer, but fans are still waiting to see the best of him.
Matheus Nunes likely to stay at Manchester City despite tricky first season
Nunes came to City from Wolves, with Tommy Doyle moving in the positive direction on an initial loan.
There was excitement about Nunes’ transfer, given Guardiola had previously branded Nunes one of the best players in the world after coming up against his Sporting CP side in the Champions League.
But Nunes was unable to force his way into the team, and made just 29 appearances for the club.
The level at City is very high and competition for places is fierce. It is not uncommon for new players not to hit the ground running straight away.
It hasn’t happened yet for Nunes and recently there has been a bit of talk about his future, with clubs in Saudi Arabia said to be interested in potentially signing him.
But journalist Ben Jacobs doesn’t foresee him leaving, and says Pep still has faith in the Portugal midfielder.
He said on The Wolfpack podcast: “I think from Pep’s point of view, he’s still a long-term admirer. I would lean more towards him staying, barring an astronomical offer.
“It can be difficult to really settle at Manchester City. We saw it with Jack Grealish, I don’t think he hit the ground running. A lot of fans felt that he was replaceable, even now there is talk he might exit.
“But Pep Guardiola has stayed loyal and Nunes falls into that category. But it is interesting, they spent big money on Nunes and the same can be said for Kalvin Phillips as well. Neither of those signings have quite worked out.”
“Because of the length of the contract and the belief from the manager, I still sense barring anything really surprising or astronomical financially that gets Manchester City more than their money back that he’ll stay at least another season.”
It was previously claimed that Pep viewed Nunes as a ‘useful’ player that he hoped to use a bit more next term.
City should keep hold of Nunes
City should be looking to keep hold of Nunes for at least one more season.
He had a bit of an underwhelming first season at the Etihad Stadium, but we did see his quality in glimpses.
The level is extremely high at City and Nunes has clearly taken some time to adapt.
Jacobs is right to point to previous players not hitting the ground running as a reason for people to keep faith with the 25-year-old.
Even Rodri, who is now arguably City’s most important player, struggled at times in his first season at the club.
Obviously Nunes had spent one year in England with Wolves prior to his move to City, so his first term was slightly disappointing given he already had some Premier League experience.
But it’s a squad packed with quality and it can take anyone time to settle in properly.