What Pep Guardiola has said about Matheus Nunes amid Man City transfer interest

Manchester City have identified Matheus Nunes as a potential late transfer target but despite news coming as a surprise, the silky midfielder has long been on Pep Guardiola's radar.

The Manchester Evening News understands that Nunes is of interest to City as they look to bulk up midfield options in an uncharacteristically chaotic end to the window. The Blues are also eyeing a move for Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze, having seen their £80million approach for Lucas Paqueta fall through amid an ongoing betting investigation into the West Ham man.

City are being forced to act late in the window amid an ongoing injury crisis and the exit of key players. Kevin De Bruyne lasted just 23 minutes against Burnley earlier this month before a recurring hamstring issue resurfaced, forcing him to undergo surgery that will keep him out until the new year.

Both Nunes and Eze have been on City's radar for some time, but the former has attracted particular interest from Guardiola since his days at Sporting CP. The Catalan took his side to Portugal for the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie in February 2022, romping to a dominant 5-0 win - but one player in green and white caught the manager's eye.

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"Sporting is a fantastic team," Guardiola admitted his his post-match press conference that evening. "They are the champions of Portugal, which has a very strong league, with FC Porto and Benfica, they change the ball well, they have fast and intelligent players.

"Matheus Nunes is one of the best players in the world today. Despite the difficulties and some mistakes, I have to be very satisfied because we took a big step towards the next round. Nunes is one of