Man City have ‘£47m bid’ rejected for Liverpool midfield target

Manchester City have seen their opening bid turned down for Liverpool target Matheus Nunes.

The Citizens are hoping to add strength in depth to their already illustrious squad after the long-term injury suffered by star Kevin De Bruyne, as well as the exit of Ilkay Gundogan earlier this summer.

Nunes, 24, arrived from Sporting last summer and despite not even completing a full season at Wolves, he was being linked with a move away in the January window, with Liverpool one of the main clubs linked.

In fact, the Telegraph Sport reported last season that Wolves removed a clause enabling the Merseyside club to buy him in January this year and they are unlikely to move for him again since acquiring the midfield duo of Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister.

An opening bid of around £47m on Thursday from City has been rejected and they are expected to return with another.

City manager Pep Guardiola previously called Nunes ‘one of the world’s best players’ after his side faced Sporting during the 2021/22 season in the Champions League. That quote helped to raise the Portuguese’s reputation and it was somewhat of a shock when Wolves were able to complete a £42m deal that summer.

Nunes shone in their opening day Premier League to Manchester United, effortlessly gliding past players and away from pressure with ease. He leads the league so far for dribbles completed with 11 and he is an excellent ball carrier.

However, he has struggled with his end product since arriving. It’s been just the one goal and one assist after one season in the league and it’s a part of his game he must improve.

His only strike was an incredible finish against Chelsea at Molineux last season which shows he is capable of the extraordinary.

However, he has played multiple positions for Wolves since joining and hasn’t enjoyed a settled position in central midfield since arriving from Sporting.

He would battle it out with summer signing Mateo Kovacic for a place in the City should he join, with both possessing similar qualities on the ball but Nunes has the advantage of being young and fresher as a whole.

A powerful midfield runner would have been a priority for Liverpool this summer, but the signings of Mac Allister and Szoboszlai has filled those holes in the squad and now a focus remains on a defensive midfielder - something which Nunes is not.