Should Matheus Nunes start against his former club, Wolverhampton Wanderers, on Saturday evening, it would be a surprise — that, in a nutshell, depicts his first season as a Manchester City player.
It is fair to say that the midfielder is only the latest player to have experienced the ‘first-season syndrome’ under Pep Guardiola following his £53million move last summer.
There have been just seven Premier League starts, five of those against teams in the current bottom six, plus five in the Champions League and one in the FA Cup and FIFA Club World Cup. Like many who have gone before him, Nunes is yet to fully earn Guardiola’s trust.
The 25-year-old only has to look around the City dressing room to see players who have taken time to settle and adapt to the Spanish manager’s methods before becoming crucial cogs in the well-oiled machine. Bernardo Silva, John Stones and Jack Grealish are just three.
The jump from most teams to City is unique and the other summer recruits have all had to bide their time since joining. Josko Gvardiol is the new signing with the most minutes to his name, Jeremy Doku has shown glimpses down the left wing, while Mateo Kovacic has been steady in midfield when used. But none have yet usurped the current incumbents.
The difference with Nunes is that when he signed late in the summer transfer window after City abandoned their pursuit of West Ham United’s Lucas Paqueta after news broke of a FA investigation into alleged betting rule breaches, it felt he was ready-made for a Guardiola midfield.
The former Sporting Lisbon player is comfortable when in possession and can elegantly drive forward, but he is susceptible to giving the ball away at times and is not a natural goalscorer — he is yet to break his duck this season. It is clear that City are yet to see his best.
“For me, especially growing up in Brazil, I always had the ball at my feet,” Nunes said. “I like to have the ball, possession and I don’t mind 100 passes and going for it.
“I have individual characteristics as well and I like to be offensive with the ball, but making passes, waiting for the right opportunity to attack, I love it. I love the idea, I love that we press very high and it doesn’t matter the team we are playing against, we press very high. This suits me.”
The job asked of him is certainly different to that at Wolves. City’s play is “more patient, less direct” and, given the fit, the expectation is that Nunes will kick on in his second campaign at the Etihad and add a new dynamic to City’s midfield.
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'Playing for City is so different to everything else'
Absorbing Guardiola’s tutelage on the training pitch and making best use of opportunities will be key to avoiding the fate of Kalvin Phillips, who failed to establish himself at the club. “I think I have developed a lot,” Nunes added.
“Working with the best brings out the best in you. I have improved my mental strength as well because you go into this team and you want to play every game and you have to be patient, strong and wise to wait for your chance.
“I think I have developed my mental strength but of course my tactical skills and understanding of football as well because here we play so much different to the other teams I have been in. Even when I was at Sporting, it wasn’t like this.”
With City now five games away from a record fourth-consecutive Premier League title — they are one point behind leaders Arsenal but with a game in hand — Guardiola will naturally side with the players in his squad who are tried and trusted for the final few matches.
It means that Nunes, experiencing a league title run-in for the first time in England, having previously won Portugal’s Primeira Liga in 2021 with Sporting, will have to be content with a few more cameo appearances.
“We can see the flag already, but there are still five games and we just have to look at Wolves and then we go from there,” Nunes said of the title race. “When I was at Sporting I was fighting for titles, so it feels the same. It is a great feeling, the best feeling to be fair.
“Last year I fought against relegation with Wolves which was not a very good feeling with butterflies in your stomach every time. Of course, it is an amazing feeling and I am very delighted to be here. The manager gives me the opportunities and I try to take it.”
Whether more of those opportunities come, particularly in bigger games, depends on whether Nunes can be the latest City player to emerge emboldened having experienced ‘first-season syndrome’.