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Manchester United to battle city rivals for star midfielder with £51m clause

Man United show interest in signing Matheus Nunes. (Photo by CARLOS COSTA/AFP via Getty Images)
Man United show interest in signing Matheus Nunes. (Photo by CARLOS COSTA/AFP via Getty Images)

Transfer News: Manchester United rival Manchester City for Sporting star Matheus Nunes

According to the Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manha [Print Edition] via Sport Witness (h/t The Mirror), Manchester United are set to battle it out with Manchester City for the services of Sporting star Matheus Nunes in the summer transfer window. He has raised his game to reach newer heights over the past two years or so and was even dubbed as “one of the best players in world football” by Pep Guardiola himself.

Erik ten Hag is keen to reinforce his midfield options ahead of the next season. Man United are in line to see several players like Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Juan Mata, and Jesse Lingard leave this summer. Their departures would leave ten Hag short-handed, which has prompted his side to turn their attention to Nunes.

As such, the Red Devils are tracking Nunes’ situation at this moment, with a proposal being prepared to be tabled in the next few days. Ten Hag has made midfield addition his priority right now, and they could actively target the Portuguese international to meet their needs. That being said, they have some ground to cover with Man City leading the pursuit as of now.

Transfer news: Manchester United rival Man City for Sporting star Matheus Nunes
Man City leading race to sign Matheus Nunes. (Photo by CARLOS COSTA/AFP via Getty Images)

Who is Matheus Nunes?

Nunes quickly made a name for himself, having risen through the Portuguese outfit’s youth academy to the first team in 2020. The 23-year-old had played a major role in helping his side to win the Primeira Liga title in the 2020-21 campaign, which was their first top-flight trophy in 19 years.

Primarily a central midfielder in trade, Nunes is also able to deputise as a defensive midfielder when called upon. He has quickly become a regular for his side last term, having made 50 appearances while having a tally of four goals and five assists to his name across all competitions.

Nunes’ ability to break through the opposition press by using his dribbling skills is one of his strong strengths, which is quite reminiscent of Pogba’s qualities. Furthermore, the Portuguese midfielder is a fine passer and a good reader of the game as well. Perhaps, that could explain why Guardiola is in awe of him and is actively targeting him right now.

Man United in line to bid for Matheus Nunes shortly. (Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images)
Man United in line to bid for Matheus Nunes shortly. (Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images)

Adding Nunes can be deemed a necessity, especially looking at our current set of options like Fred and Scott McTominay. That being said, we must ramp up our efforts considering how the Citizens are ahead of us at this moment in the race for Nunes, who apparently has a £51million release clause.

Our city rivals are in a far better place than us right now, which could be problematic when it comes to convincing Nunes of a move. That being said, his agent, Jorge Mendes, has connections with us through Cristiano Ronaldo but then again, his clients Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, and Bernardo Silva play for the Etihad outfit.

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However, the major concern would be Nunes’ stance, as he has previously expressed his desire to remain in Portugal for a long time. Despite that, fans would hope that the chance to join United’s Portuguese clique and become a part of Erik ten Hag’s revolution is enough to convince Nunes to choose Red over Sky Blue.

Written by Rijo Sam Daniel

A football enthusiast who is madly in love with the game

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