1 week Ago By Charlie Gordon
Pep Guardiola has made it brutally clear that he does not think Matheus Nunes is clever enough for his Manchester City midfield - but not everyone agrees. The Portuguese international has been shifted out to right-back in recent weeks, having failed to stamp his authority on the middle of the park since completing a £53million move nearly two years ago. After once again fielding Nunes out of his preferred position in a goalless draw at Manchester United on Sunday, Guardiola said: "He can become a good right-back because of his physicality.
I don't think he's a player for the middle because he is not clever enough, he does not have the composure." Nunes made his name as an all-action midfielder with Sporting and Wolves. Even before that, he was seen as a player with significant promise.
Rui Santos was the manager of Estoril's Under-23 side when Nunes was at the club between 2018 and 2019, and he believes that Guardiola's comments were way off the mark. "I disagree [with Pep] because when City faced Sporting in the Champions League [in 2022], he praised Matheus Nunes as the MVP in midfield," Santos told Express Sport . "Whenever Guardiola faced him or praised him, it was always as a talented midfielder and never as a defender.
If they play him at right-back he won't object, but his natural habitat is to play in midfield." In Portugal, much was made of Nunes' post-match interview at Old Trafford, in which he nervously scratched his head after being asked about his new role. If he is unhappy about having to deputise in unfamiliar territory, Guardiola's comment about his lack of intelligence is unlikely to perk him up.
And it could be a struggle for Nunes to show his best football if he is short on belief. Santos continued: "He lacks confidence in himself and the coach when he says that Matheus is not an intelligent player. He can be smart, quicker to think, move and execute.
All this will happen with the coach's own confidence and self-confidence. "He is a kid who rose through the ranks, the result of his work and being humble. He will continue to be a professional and will never turn his back on the fight.
He is a player that every coach would like to have in his squad because he has many qualities and virtues as a human being. He is a man with a capital M." Nunes has failed to score in 38 Premier League appearances for City, and he is yet to establish himself as anything more than a bit-part player when the squad is at full strength.
If he continues to be overlooked for a midfield role, Santos suspects that frank conversations will be lined up for the summer. He said: "At the end of the season, he should reflect together with the club and coach and see what is best for him, which in my opinion involves being a midfielder.".
