Pep Guardiola comments on Matheus Nunes show Man City transfer was meant to be

Matheus Nunes will arrive at Manchester City knowing he will have an unprecedented four-month shot at a starting XI position in the best team in Europe.

With Kevin De Bruyne sidelined until the new year, the Portugal star has the chance to show he too can be part of the next phase of Pep Guardiola’s evolution. His arrival may please some teammates and strike fear into others.

Nunes, who turned 25 on Sunday, has only played an attacking midfield role six times since his move to England, having largely been used as a central midfielder and sometimes as a wide man. So he may not come in as a direct replacement for De Bruyne.

If played elsewhere, it would allow Phil Foden to occupy the attacking midfield role, although Julain Alvarez might have something to say about that. Nunes is very much of the Bernardo Silva ilk in terms of physique and skillset, albeit operates more centrally.

READ MORE: City agree final deal with Wolves for Nunes as fee rises to £53m

Perhaps on the other side of the midfield table is Kalvin Phillips, who will be concerned he might not match last season’s tally of two Premier League starts when Nunes arrives. Maybe the signing of Mateo Kovacic had already ignited that fear anyway.

While the Croat has four Champions League winners medals under his belt, Nunes had caught Guardiola’s eye in the competition around 18 months ago. The then 23-year-old was part of the Sporting Lisbon team that suffered a 5-0 drubbing against City in the last 16 in February 2022.

The Portuguese side may have walked home with their tail between their legs but Nunes’ ears will have been piqued by Guardiola’s post-match comments. The Catalan coach said: “Sporting are a fantastic team, they are the champions of Portugal, which