Manchester City midfielder Matheus Nunes says that he is capable of replacing Rodri in Pep Guardiola’s engine room for the rest of the season.
Manchester City midfielder Matheus Nunes has put his name forward to replace the injured Rodri.
Since making the big-money switch from Wolverhampton Wanderers last summer, Nunes has endured a frustrating period at the Etihad Stadium.
Just 15 starts and 19 substitute outings have been made in all competitions, the Portugal international quickly falling out of favour with Pep Guardiola after his arrival.
However, the 26-year-old is now likely to be used more frequently with star man Rodri having been ruled out in the long term with a serious knee injury.
While City are yet to confirm how long the Euro 2024 will spend on the sidelines, the expectation is that he will be absent for the remainder of the campaign.
Although Guardiola is well stocked for alternatives in the engine room, he does not possess an exact alternative nor the biggest squad until the January transfer window.
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Nunes ready to build on Watford game
As expected, Nunes was drafted into the starting lineup for Tuesday’s EFL Cup tie against Watford, netting the second goal as a much-changed City side recorded a 2-1 victory over the Hornets.
Having only played 78 minutes across four substitute outings ahead of that appearance, the likelihood is that Nunes will drop back down to the bench for Saturday’s Premier League encounter at Newcastle United.
Nevertheless, Nunes has put forward his credentials in the engine room, giving a public reminder that he was deployed in a more defensive-minded midfield role during his time with Sporting Lisbon.
Nunes said, as quoted by Sky Sports News: “At Wolves I played more as a winger and last year here I played more as a 10 but when I played for Sporting I always played in the double pivot so I’m used to every position now.
“I try to help the team every time the coach puts me on the field but I know the other guys are all ready as well because we have so much quality in the team.
“We’re going to have to fill the void because it’s a massive loss but whoever is on the pitch is going to perform well. We have shown that if any player is out we have another one that is ready and has top quality to play.”
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Is Guardiola likely to listen to Nunes?
In the grand scheme of things, Nunes is going to be required to take on more minutes than he would have anticipated with Rodri fit and available.
However, Mateo Kovacic, Ilkay Gundogan, Rico Lewis and John Stones may all be preferred to him, particularly when it comes to taking on Rodri’s role.
On the flip side, a position could open up in the most attack-minded of a midfield two or three, depending on the fitness of other players.