Chelsea are reportedly set to submit a bid of £43m to sign Sporting CP midfielder Matheus Nunes.
The 23-year-old, who has spent the last three years in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, is said to be on the Blues’ watchlist as the club look set to bolster their midfield ahead of the start of the 2022/23 Premier League season, with Chelsea starting their campaign away at Everton on August 6.
The midfielder is an eight-time Portugal international after making his senior debut last year and could be part of the Portuguese squad that competes at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar later this year. Reports from Portuguese outlet A Bola claim that Chelsea are willing to submit a bid of €45m (£38.6m) to sign the 23-year-old, as well as a further €5m (£4.3m) in potential add-ons.
The news will come as a blow to Wolverhampton Wanderers, who have been heavily linked with Nunes this summer and were even set to pay the same figure that Chelsea have now reportedly agreed with Sporting, although they have not been able to get the money together after not selling Ruben Neves, who has been linked with interest from Manchester United, Arsenal, Newcastle United and Barcelona.
It is thought that with Chelsea competing for trophies and with the lure of Champions League football, Nunes is set to be more keen on a move to Stamford Bridge than he is Molineux, despite the large Portuguese contingent in the West Midlands and playing under Portuguese boss Bruno Lage.
Would Matheus Nunes be a good signing for Chelsea? Have your say in the comments section.
Nunes has played 99 times for Sporting in the last three and a half seasons in all competitions after joining them from Estoril in January 2019 in a deal costing €500,000 (£428,508) for half of the player’s economic rights.
While at Sporting, Nunes has won the Primeira Liga title, two Taca de Liga cups and was named in the division’s Team of the Year last season, as well as being named as the league’s midfielder of the month in October and November of last year.
Since Todd Boehly took over Chelsea earlier this summer from Roman Abramovich in a £4.25billion sale, the Blues have yet to complete a signing, but have been linked with a number of high-profile deals.
The priority is expected to be centre-backs following the free transfer exits of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen to Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively this summer. Manchester City ’s Nathan Ake and Juventus ’ Matthijs de Ligt are both among the names so far linked with interest from the Blues.
In attack, Chelsea have also been linked with a sensational move to sign Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo after telling the club he was open to leaving this summer last weekend. Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling and Leeds United winger Raphinha have also been linked.
With many incomings both expected and required as part of a summer rebuild, club captain Cesar Azpilicueta and fellow Spanish defender Marcos Alonso have both been linked with interest from Barcelona. Winger Hakim Ziyech also looks set to join last season’s Serie A title winners AC Milan.
