Transfer News: Liverpool to not bid for Matheus Nunes
According to a Portuguese outlet A Bola (h/t Liverpool Echo), Liverpool have made a decision to not make a formal bid to sign Sporting CP midfielder, Matheus Nunes in this summer transfer window.
It is claimed that the Reds did make contact for a possible move for the 23-year-old, but have distanced themselves from making any bid.
Moreover, it has been well documented that Nunes has rejected offers from Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United in favour of a move to a club that has Champions League football to offer. The price tag for the 23-year-old was around £42.2m for this summer. He has a contract with the Lisbon club until the summer of 2026.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has repeatedly made it clear that he is happy with the options he has in the midfield area. However, injuries have not relented, especially in that department, with Thiago Alcantara expected to be out between four to six weeks.
On the other hand, Curtis Jones is out for an unknown period of time and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s serious hamstring, which he picked up during a pre-season game against Crystal Palace, isn’t healing soon.
It’s a catch-22 situation for Liverpool, with none of the midfielders out for the majority of this season, but the injury records of some of them aren’t too encouraging. When asked about the possibility of signing a midfielder during the pre-match press conference on Friday, Klopp was clear in saying that the club goes after the right option and is not being stubborn.
If there was the right player and an opportunity, we would have done it, we would do it, but I don’t see it because we had a lot of conversations already and it doesn’t look like something will happen
So, it does mean that Liverpool haven’t yet considered Nunes as the “right player” for them, otherwise, they would have made a bid for him. That is not a slight on the 23-year-old though, who is one of the sought-after midfielders across Europe. Big clubs, including Manchester City, have been chasing his signature.
The Reds not signing a midfielder is a risk they are taking for this season, which can either be a masterstroke or a big hurdle. The hope is there that young players like Harvey Elliott, Curtis Jones and Fabio Carvalho will deliver in that position while developing their game to go to the next level.
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The club offering a new long-term contract to Elliott does show that they are looking to bank on him as a regular first-team starter with big expectations.
