Danny Murphy hasn’t held back in his critique of one Man City player, who’s starting to look like £53million poorly spent.
Manchester City have had some underperformers in their ranks this season, some more so than others, but definitely some underperformers.
Pep Guardiola won’t want to name names but he, like many Man City fans, likely know who the culprits are: Phil Foden has had a really disappointing season whilst Jack Grealish only scored his first Premier League goal of the season last week.
There are plenty of others, along with one or two bright sparks in January signings Omar Marmoush and Abdukodir Khusanov who’s helped to improve the team at either end of the pitch.
In the summer there’ll be drastic changes at the Etihad. Hugo Viana is the new director of football at Man City and he’ll be making some sweeping changes to the playing staff, likely facilitating plenty of comings and goings.
We could see some of the Man City deadwood shipped off, with one potential candidate for the exodus being Matheus Nunes.
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Danny Murphy thinks Matheus Nunes is out of his depth at Man City
Speaking on talkSPORT, Danny Murphy has given his verdict on the 26-year-old after Pep said Nunes wasn’t clever enough to play in midfield. It was an honest opinion from Pep that both surprised and didn’t surprise Man City fans: it’s a bold thing to say but Man City fans are unimpressed with Nunes this season, so they may well agree with the Spaniard.
Man City signed Nunes from Wolves in a £53million deal in 2023. He’s since made 62 total appearances for Man City, scoring three and assisting 13 more with four assists in 21 Premier League appearances so far this season, but Murphy says the jury is very much out on the Brazilian utility man.
Murphy said: “I think if you play in Pep’s team, he wants you to have a certain footballing IQ when you play in the middle of the pitch. I think he could play midfield, as he did for Wolves and other teams, who don’t necessarily play the same way City play, because they have a high level of football IQ.
“You need to do a lot of things well to play in City’s midfield. You need to see a lot of pictures and have a real understanding of the game which he’s [Pep’s] probably right, he’s probably not got. I don’t think he’s a right-back, to be honest with you; not a great crosser, not a brilliant passer… I think it’s probably a level too far for him. He probably needs to drop down and be a big fish in a smaller pond.”
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Matheus Nunes may have already foretold his Man City exit
Rico Lewis looks like the long-term answer for Pep in that right-back spot. But if Nunes leaves this summer then Pep will need another to come in and provide both depth and competition in that position.
But what Murphy and perhaps Pep both say about Nunes is correct. He’s not been able to make that step up to being a world class player at Man City and it might be time for him and the club to both cut their losses, and move on from each other.
And Nunes may already be weighing up a possible exit. Speaking earlier in the year, Nunes said he wants to return to Sporting CP one day in his career, albeit not immediately, but it could be a possible escape route that he explores should Viana decide he doesn’t want him anymore.
Up next for Man City is a game against Crystal Palace at the Etihad on Saturday.
