The transfer window slammed shut earlier this month, and with just hours to go, Wolverhampton Wanderers sold star midfielder Matheus Nunes. The Portuguese international joined Premier League champions Manchester City for a fee said to be around £53m.
Football FanCast has taken a look at the player, his transfer and what was going on at Wolves this summer.
Who is Matheus Nunes?
Matheus Nunes' age is 24, having been born on August 27th, 1998, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. However, his family moved to the Portuguese town of Ericeira, near Lisbon, when he was 12 years old. This is why he holds Portuguese citizenship and has represented the European country 11 times at senior level, scoring one goal.
The 6 foot tall midfielder began his career at Ericeirense in 2016 before he moved to top flight outfit Estoril in 2018. Here he would make just six league appearances before being signed by Portuguese giants Sporting CP for just €500,000.
During his time with the Leoes, Nunes would make 76 league appearances, score eight goals, provide five assists and win one league title. This excellent form would earn him a move to Wolves in the summer of 2022 for a fee reported to be £42m.
In the West Midlands, the 24-year-old's salary was around £85,000-a-week, or £4,420,000-a-year. This was the second-highest pay packet at the club, behind only Pablo Sarabia and Goncalo Guedes, who both make £90,000-a-week.
Matheus Nunes' position for Wolves varied, as he played at the heart of the midfield, in a central position, a central attacking position, on the left of midfield and the right of midfield, so his versatility was there for all to see.
What is the latest Matheus Nunes transfer news?
Transfers expert Fabrizio Romano reported late on August 23rd that treble winner Manchester City had submitted an offer to Wolves for Nunes, though to be worth around €50m (£43m) with add-ons. Romano also confirmed that the Portuguese international had "accepted City" as his new club, with personal terms having already been agreed.
However, in the hours following, it was widely reported that the Old Gold had rejected the proposal from their Premier League competitors. BBC Sport claimed that the rejected deal was worth around £47m, which would have represented a profit for the cash-strapped club.
Ultimately, City would come back in with another offer in the closing days of the window and eventually secured their man in a deal worth £53m, per Sky Sports News.
Why did Man City want Matheus Nunes?
On the surface, it might've seemed odd that the all-conquering, treble-winning, record-breaking City wanted to sign Nunes, who, for all his quality, potentially underwhelmed ever so slightly during his year at Molineux.
However, with the long-term injury to Kevin De Bruyne and a deal for Lucas Paqueta falling through, a move for the 24-year-old suddenly looked much more reasonable.
While the direct comparison to the Belgian doesn't quite work due to the pair taking up different positions on the pitch, Nunes at least adds another body to Pep Guardiola's midfield, and a quality one at that.
Journalist Alex Crook told TalkSport (via The Boot Room) that the interest in Nunes likely spells the end for Kalvin Philips, saying:
"The fact that City are looking for extra midfield cover suggests that Pep Guardiola is now coming around to the idea of letting [Kalvin] Phillips go out, maybe even on loan."
It certainly doesn't look good for the Englishman's playing time now he has another player to contend with, one the club just splashed over £50m on.
Were Liverpool interested in Matheus Nunes?
City weren't the only 'big six' club to express genuine interest in the Rio-born gem this year, as Liverpool were said to hold a genuine interest in him in January.
According to Sky Sports News, the Reds were 'monitoring' the midfielder, with their interest in him manifesting before he had even signed for Wolves.
Sky also reported that the club was likely to try and sign him in the summer; however, their valuation of £44m was considered well below the minimum asking price Wolves had of £50m for the former Sporting star.
That said, this 'interest' can't have been all that substantial, as the Liverpool Echo reported in early June that Jürgen Klopp's side had already moved on from Nunes and were instead focussing on other targets.
Did Wolves want to sell Matheus Nunes this summer?
With only one year under his belt at Molineux, it was clear that Wolves were not keen on selling Nunes for such a small profit, and so their reluctance to sell the midfielder shouldn't have come as a surprise to fans or potential suitors.
This desire to hold onto the Portuguese international meant that they swiftly rejected City's opening offer of £47m, and according to TalkSport, planned to only sell if they received an offer worth at least £60m. For City's part, journalist Mike Minay reported that, as with all of their targets, they would've walked away if they felt that Wolves' valuation exceed their own.
In the end, City's final offer of £53m was deemed good enough by the club – a decision likely influenced by their economic difficulties and concerns about financial regulations from the Premier League.
What did Matheus Nunes' goals stats look like at Wolves?
For all the attention he was courting from the country's biggest clubs, you'd be forgiven for thinking Nunes must've scored plenty of goals for the Old Gold last season; well, unfortunately, that is just not the case.
In his 37 Premier League appearances for Wolves, Nunes scored just one goal and registered one assist. However, he was playing more as a central midfielder than an attacking one, which does help to explain his poor output somewhat.
That said, the one goal he scored against Chelsea was an absolute screamer.
Just take a look at the highlight below:
Did Matheus Nunes want to leave Wolves?
While it was evidently clear that Wolves did not want to sell their prized asset last month, especially so close to the end of the window, the player himself was much more positive about the move.
According to ESPN, the Portuguese midfielder was 'keen' on a move to Manchester, and with Guardiola at the helm who can blame him?
What is the latest Wolves transfer news?
It was a summer of sales for the club that had spent over £100m on signings this time last year. In all, ten players left the side permanently this summer, with several first-team players among them.
Ruben Neves was at least able to fetch the club £47m, while Nathan Collins brought in another £23m. However, former stars like Adama Traore and Joao Moutinho left for nothing.
Another name that looked like it would be added to the list of departures is that of Nelson Semedo. According to Football Insider, the full-back had attracted interest from Manchester United, with the Red Devils enquiring about his availability. Luckily for the club he's still there.
The main reason the club have had to sell so many players and so dramatically reduce their spending is the fear that they would break the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules if they repeated last summer's spending.
The regulations stipulate that no club in the league can register losses of more than £105m over a three-year period, and according to The Athletic, the club were very much at risk of doing precisely this were they not to sanction a raft of sales this summer.
Ultimately, this concern over the club's financial well-being and the generally more than fair offer from City meant that the club felt they had to sanction the sale. Hopefully, for the fans, the sales this summer mean the club can start adding players to the squad again next summer.