Manchester City and Liverpool will 'battle it out' for Portugal and Wolves midfield ace Matheus Nunes, according to reports.
A report in the Sunday Times (via the Daily Express ) states Nunes delayed agreeing on a club-record move to Bruno Lage's side earlier this summer in the hope Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp would make a move for him. And the same piece suggests that Liverpool could be set to revive their interest in the 23-year-old in the coming transfer windows as they look to add to their midfield personnel at Anfield.
After initially deciding not to strengthen their midfield ranks during the summer, Liverpool made a move for Juventus and Brazil midfielder Arthur Melo on deadline day, due to the injuries Thiago Alcantara and Jordan Henderson sustained in the opening Premier League games of the new season. While Thiago has since returned and reminded everyone of his qualities during last month's victory over Ajax, those around him have struggled as the Reds have begun the new campaign with a string of poor results - with Saturday's six-goal thriller against Brighton the latest instalment.
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Nunes has impressed in a largely uninspiring Wolves side since making the £42m switch from Sporting Lisbon in August despite the pressure continuing to mount on the manager and fellow countryman Lage, who now finds himself with more questions to answer following Wolves' 2-0 defeat to West Ham United on Saturday evening.
Next summer is already being earmarked as a significant one for Liverpool and Klopp - especially when in comes to personnel in the engine room. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita are both out of contract in 2023 and are yet to agree on extensions at Anfield.
James Milner, who will turn 37 later this season, also finds himself out of contract next year and with the veteran midfielder seemingly eager to prolong his ever-lasting playing career, combined with the Reds' plethora of youth in such positions, it remains to be seen where he will be turning out from next summer onwards.
Such uncertainty has seen Liverpool linked with big-money moves for Borussia Dortmund star Jude Bellingham and Nunes prior to his move to the West Midlands. Meanwhile, Manchester City's reported interest in the latter midfielder is certainly no surprise given the glowing verdict manager Pep Guardiola delivered after Sporting and City played in the Champions League knockout stages back in February, which the Premier League champions won 4-0.
"Sporting are a fantastic team," raved Guardiola. "They are the champions of Portugal, which have a very strong league, with Porto and Benfica, they change the ball well, they have fast and intelligent players. I would say that Matheus Nunes is one of the best players in the world today."
Liverpool's midfield was once again the subject of much scrutiny on Saturday afternoon as they struggled against Brighton in Roberto de Zerbi's first game in charge of the Seagulls. Having shipped two, cheap, early goals to Leandro Trossard, the Reds turned the game around to lead 3-2, only to squander their slender lead within the final 10 minutes at Anfield. With some very uninspiring midfielder and defensive contributions allowing Trossard the space of the Anfield penalty area to grab his and Brighton's third and subsequently claim a very well-deserved point.
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