Liverpool were unable to trigger a clause to sign Matheus Nunes this summer as Wolves had it removed.
Nunes had been one of the names most heavily linked with a move to Anfield as Jurgen Klopp went about beefing up his midfield.
But with four new midfielders arriving at Liverpool, the 25-year-old instead completed a slightly surprising transfer to Manchester City.
Detailing the inner workings of that move, The Telegraph claim that City had in fact been tracking Nunes for the past 18 months.
So too, seemingly, had Liverpool. It’s claimed that the Reds interest in the Portugal international was ‘so strong’ that Wolves chose to actively take out a clause allowing Liverpool to sign him during the 2023 summer window.
Liverpool lose out on Nunes clause
Perhaps we’ll never get the full details of just what exactly was the deal between Wolves, Liverpool, Sporting and Nunes’ agent Jorge Mendes.
But the more you read about it all, the less it seems to make sense.
Back in 2022, Liverpool were badly in need a new midfield player. Nunes seemed to fit the bill in terms of what he offered and Sporting were ready to sell him.
Instead of simply signing him direct from Portugal though, Liverpool instead saw Nunes head to Wolves. In the process, it seems that the Reds inserted this clause, allowing them to come in for the player a year later.
Quite why Wolves would agree to this is a genuine mystery. It also appears that they weren’t happy to, given that they easily removed it earlier this year.
Whether Liverpool fought them on this is another piece of this puzzle that is missing. Maybe one day we’ll get the full picture.
In the meantime, the Reds aren’t missing Nunes too much. Despite that, it’s clear that City have got themselves another top player. Dion Dublin described him as ‘incredible’ last season [BBC Sport] and he isn’t the only one to shower Nunes with such praise. Hopefully this isn’t one we come to regret.
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