27 | Matheus Nunes - 2023/24

[Gabriel]

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the Benfica trained players have all looked more comfortable fitting into our system. It’s one of the reasons why Neves should find it easier to fit should we sign him.

Nunes has only ever scored 12 goals and delivered 18 assists in a career now spanning 209 games, so he’s not actually underdelivering in those areas. Yet, at our level, such a similar return would be disappointing from other midfielders let alone one costing over £50 million. Where, therefore, is the best place to play him? If he ends up staying, and I’m not entirely convinced he will, then it may be that he needs to be converted into the kind of player Delph/Zinchenko became, but on the right. Otherwise, I’m not sure we can afford to retain such a player to sit on the bench for another season.

 

[Blue2202]

I could say the same about other players on a regular basis…one of whom cost twice that much!

He was asked to play much deeper today, alongside Kova and even picking the ball up as the last man. That’s not his preferred game, but he did a job.

He had two slips today, which cost us, and hit the post after a good run in deep. He got 90 minutes under his belt and he did himself no harm with the manager.

We’ll see, but I say you’re wrong about him.

Are you referring to grealish by any chance? The same grealish who played an integral role in the treble, and who pep continually trusts in big games... and youre comparing his performances to Nunes?! They are on completely different levels.

If he cant play deep then how on earth can he warrant a position further forward?! He doesn't score or assist, gives the ball away cheaply and doesn't dictate play at all.

Youre saying I'm wrong but the body of work hes produced at city suggests otherwise. Every other summer signing has showed their qualities in games this season.

 

[Blue_Lightsaber]

If he ends up staying, and I’m not entirely convinced he will, then it may be that he needs to be converted into the kind of player Delph/Zinchenko became, but on the right. Otherwise, I’m not sure we can afford to retain such a player to sit on the bench for another season.

Why not?

His attitude isn't anywhere near bad like Cancelo's..

It's much harder to find a player willing to sit on the bench and fill in than it is to find a starter. I think we may have finally hit gold in that he knows hes lucky to be here and and Pep trusts him to improve and will give him a run out in some games, and his salary isn't extremely high either.

Brings something totally different to the rest of the team when he is on.. adds another dimension to the team.

 

[Gabriel]

Why not?

His attitude isn't anywhere near bad like Cancelo's..

It's much harder to find a player willing to sit on the bench and fill in than it is to find a starter. I think we may have finally hit gold in that he knows hes lucky to be here and and Pep trusts him to improve and will give him a run out in some games, and his salary isn't extremely high either.

Brings something totally different to the rest of the team when he is on.. adds another dimension to the team.

If you think we’ve struck gold spending over 50 million to warm our bench, then we’ll beg to differ. Our success is built on a playing system where everyone understands his role and can follow it. We don’t therefore need players who bring something different.

 

[jrb]

Not going to pile on, but even now I don’t see what he offers us.

 

[Keeper!]

Not going to pile on, but even now I don’t see what he offers us.

Pace, stamina and unpredictability, he is very different to our other players.

 

[Stoned Rose]

The club should employ you then of it takes 5 mins.

Would've saved the club plenty of money if they had you to tell them who they shouldn't sign within 5 minutes.

Absolutely correct mate.

 

[WallyA]

I think anybody with any semblance of football recognition can see there is a good player there.

Under Phillips 1st season, there was hope he could turn it around in his 2nd season, but watching him in his 1st season it was still difficult to find positives. The hope was that he was coming back from an injury, so we needed to wait.

In Nunes 1st season, you can immediately see all the good qualities he has:

- Ball Carrying Ability and Dribbling to glide past players
- Decent eye for a creative pass, especially good at crossing
- Fairly tall and fast for his frame

What he needs to improve (and some of these he has improved already):

- Positioning (The Pep Factor), knowing where to be and when to pass, literally every player Pep buys has to go through this at some point as it's the most different thing to them.

In the last game I saw HUGE improvements in Nunes for this, he wasn't making blind runs, he had patience, held position, moved when he needed to.

- Strength on the ball and Challenging, he needs to be braver, and stronger in these situations, I think this is something that with coaching, time and more maturity can improve, because physically, he has the attribute to be good at this, it's just a mental barrier he has to get beyond.

In the last game we saw the downside of him being too weak and flimsy on the ball as he gave away the goal, he should be able to receive that pass, know there is someone on him, and shield it properly.

- Lowest on my list, he doesn't seem to have a great shot on him, this is probably the least likely to get better, I think most players usually just "have it", and rarely truly get much better at this. This is one I don't mind if he is slightly below average at.


With All This Said

I think his ultimate future is as a box to box CM (Gundogan role) to be in build up, and push up higher in transition.

But should probably get minutes also on the wings, simple to get minutes and use to the system.

 

[Henri Regnault]

Not going to pile on, but even now I don’t see what he offers us.

Did we watch the same game? I thought he was our best midfielder in the first half. One of two players on the pitch capable of turning into traffic with the ball on his feet. Think he'll kick on easily for us next year especially if/when bernardo goes.

 

[Henri Regnault]

I think anybody with any semblance of football recognition can see there is a good player there.

Under Phillips 1st season, there was hope he could turn it around in his 2nd season, but watching him in his 1st season it was still difficult to find positives. The hope was that he was coming back from an injury, so we needed to wait.

In Nunes 1st season, you can immediately see all the good qualities he has:

- Ball Carrying Ability and Dribbling to glide past players
- Decent eye for a creative pass, especially good at crossing
- Fairly tall and fast for his frame

What he needs to improve (and some of these he has improved already):

- Positioning (The Pep Factor), knowing where to be and when to pass, literally every player Pep buys has to go through this at some point as it's the most different thing to them.

In the last game I saw HUGE improvements in Nunes for this, he wasn't making blind runs, he had patience, held position, moved when he needed to.

- Strength on the ball and Challenging, he needs to be braver, and stronger in these situations, I think this is something that with coaching, time and more maturity can improve, because physically, he has the attribute to be good at this, it's just a mental barrier he has to get beyond.

In the last game we saw the downside of him being too weak and flimsy on the ball as he gave away the goal, he should be able to receive that pass, know there is someone on him, and shield it properly.

- Lowest on my list, he doesn't seem to have a great shot on him, this is probably the least likely to get better, I think most players usually just "have it", and rarely truly get much better at this. This is one I don't mind if he is slightly below average at.


With All This Said

I think his ultimate future is as a box to box CM (Gundogan role) to be in build up, and push up higher in transition.

But should probably get minutes also on the wings, simple to get minutes and use to the system.

One thing I saw was he was able to spot and make gundo-esque late runs into the box. Sneaking through and creating overloads in the oppositions box was part of what helped Haaland score so much last season. Defenders had no choice but to leave him alone at crucial moments.