Pundit Paul Merson has said that he can’t believe Manchester City have made a transfer move for Matheus Nunes.
It has been a busy past day or so for the Manchester club as they not only agreed a £53m deal to sign Nunes from Wolves, but they also agreed a deal to sell Cole Palmer to Chelsea for a fee in the region of £40-£45m.
This has now led to one pundit having his say on these two proposed deals.
Merson gobsmacked by Nunes deal
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
Written in his latest column for Sportskeeda, Merson had this to say about City’s move for Nunes.
He said: “I think shelling out €63m (£53m) for Matheus Nunes is silly.
“I’ve watched Nunes a lot of times and I really feel like he is eye candy. He can beat three or four players but there’s no end product. So I really don’t understand selling Palmer and bringing in Nunes.”
After making 101 senior appearances for Sporting CP, where he scored eight goals and delivered nine assists, the 25-year-old joined Wolves last summer in a deal worth £38m.
His debut season in the Premier League saw Nunes score just one goal and provide just one assist in 34 appearances.
Photo by Jack Thomas – WWFC/Wolves via Getty Images
So while this lack of goal contributions may back up Merson’s point about the midfielder’s insufficient end product, Nunes showed in other areas of his game what he’d be able to offer Pep Guardiola’s side.
For example, the Portuguese international ended the previous league campaign with the third-highest combined total of tackles and interceptions (83) at Wolves, showing how effective he can be off the ball, in addition to the versatility he has in being able to play in multiple midfield roles.
Moving forward, if Nunes can hit the ground running at the Etihad Stadium and Guardiola can find a suitable role for him in the side, he’ll have a great chance of proving Merson, or any other doubters, wrong about the proposed move.
