Manchester City target hands in transfer request and refuses to train

As The Top Flight has covered, Manchester City is very interested in signing Wolverhampton Wanders’ Matheus Nunes and has already submitted a second bid for the player. Personal terms between the player and City are already agreed upon, and it feels as though it could be a matter of time before a deal is wrapped up. Despite significant progress being made in a deal, things still aren’t at the one-yard line, and Matheus Nunes knows that himself.

Matheus Nunes skips training with Wolves as he pushes for Manchester City move

David Ornstein of The Athletic is reporting that Wolves’ midfielder Matheus Nunes was absent this week from training as he looks to secure a move away from Molineux Stadium. Ornstein states that Nunes has informed the Wolves hierarchy that he wishes to leave this transfer window. Wolves have recently rejected a bid of £47m from Manchester City and are expected to stand pat on their valuation of the player. The Athletic’s reporting suggests that Nunes will be disciplined by his parent club for missing training, and the expectation is the player will rejoin the rest of the squad in due time.

If Manchester City fail to close out a deal for Matheus Nunes, they could turn their attention to Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze, who also falls on the Mancunian club’s shortlist. It is likely the English attacker would cost significantly more than Nunes, though.

Matheus Nunes only made his switch to Wolves last summer from Portuguese outfit Sporting CP. Originally from Brazil, Nunes moved to Lisbon when he was a kid and made his senior debut for Portugal in 2021. While the players may not be like-for-like replacements, Manchester City’s interest in Matheus Nunes likely stems after they had to pull out of negotiations for West Ham’s Lucas Pauqeta when it was revealed the Brazilian was being investigated for gambling offences.