Pep Guardiola has said that Manchester City midfielder Matheus Nunes needs to improve one specific area of his game.
The Spaniard was absent for City’s previous two Premier League outings as he was recovering from having back surgery.
With the 52-year-old now back in his usual position, the City boss has had his say on one player who will be looking to make his first appearance for the club this weekend.
Guardiola drops Nunes verdict
Speaking in his latest press conference ahead of City’s upcoming Premier League match against West Ham United.
He said: “We can play in the holding-midfielder, attacking-midfielder, full-back with his physicality.
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“He has to improve the first contact, first touch. Try with the ball like Kevin [De Bruyne], Kevin is incomparable. His energy, the balls in the last games as winger. The quality is so difficult to find. Dribble and make 10, 15, 20 metres.
“He will learn to be more precise in simple things, The way we train, he will get. He has the qualities a manager cannot improve which is so important.”
Towards the end of the recent summer transfer window, the treble winners signed Nunes from Wolves in a deal worth £53m.
Having been an unused substitute for the 5-1 win over Fulham earlier in the month, the 25-year-old could be in with a chance of making his City debut in tomorrow’s clash at the London Stadium.
In terms of needing to work on his first touch, the midfielder miscontrolled the ball 41 times in total across his previous Premier League campaign with Wolves, leaving only three other players at the Midlands club with more.
In fact, only two City players miscontrolled the ball more times than Nunes did in the Premier League last season.
Moving forward, if the Portuguese international can work on this side of his game, he’ll eventually be given the chance to play and show what he’s capable of and why the club were right to sign him in the first place.