The Newest Portuguese Wolf: Matheus Nunes
Since Guo Guangchang purchased Wolverhampton Wanderers and the club’s board’s liaison with Jorge Mendes, a Portuguese superagent, Wolves have developed a passion for Portuguese market recruitment.
This methodology isn’t uncommon in football, like in Wenger’s early Arsenal revolution, where he used nonpareil knowledge of the talent in the French market to sign players like Anelka, Henry, Petit, Vieira etc. Wolves have done a similar, albeit a lesser version of the same thing, with talents like Neves, Podence, Neto & veterans like Moutinho, Patricio or Jimenez.
The latest Lobo to cross the North Sea and swap sunny Lisboa for the United Kingdom is Sporting Clube de Portugal’s Leões Matheus Nunes.
About Matheus Nunes
“Matheus Nunes is one of the best players in the world today.” ~ Pep Guardiola.
Born on the west side of Rio de Janeiro, The 24-year-old moved to Portugal when he was 12. He came through at local Lisbon club Ericeirense before moving to Portuguese second division club Estoril, where his performances and talent caught the eye of many a scout and earned him his big move to Sporting.
The rest is history, with noteworthy Champions League performances against the English Champions and performances in Liga NOS raising his stock and earning him the reputation which forced Wolves to pay up 50 Million Euros this summer.
ANALYSING MATHEUS NUNES:
Sporting’s Set up & Nunes’s Role:
Under Ruben Amorim, sporting play in a 3–4–3 set-up with Nunes as part of the double pivot, alongside fellow Portugal International João Palhinha. In possession, Sporting set up with a shape-shifting 3–2–5/3–1–6 shape, with the shape depending on the position of, you guessed it, Matheus Nunes. Nunes is free to move and can be in a pivot with Palhinha, as an interior in the half spaces or receiving by the flanks. As an interior, he either drifts wide to participate in combinations/receive or will make runs from deep for through balls over the top.
Out of possession, they set up in a mid to high block 5–2–3/5–4–1, allowing the gk possession and engaging as the ball is moved to the CB’s or the pivot and engaging from there. Nunes’ role is to shuttle from side to side in the double pivot, covering the half spaces or pushing up to press the pivot.
Nunes Himself:
With a height of 183 cm, The lanky 24-year-old is as press resistant as they come, capable of receiving in the tightest of spots and retaining possession, using his big frame, technique, long stride and acceleration to burst past pressure and carry the ball with ease. Nunes’s ball manipulation, technical security and consistency are such that he can receive anywhere on the pitch, knowing that he will inevitably retain the ball no matter the conditions and find a pass.
As Pep Guardiola said here, Dribblers are deal-breaking talents, capable of finding solutions to opposition defences schemes that aren’t pre-planned. They can slice open the deepest of blocks, resist the most ferocious of pressures and provide solutions to ineffective attacks. Matheus Nunes is an excellent talent in these facets.
Nunes possesses impeccable close technique, as he uses ball rolls, directional touches and body usage while dribbling and shielding, enabling him to protect the ball and go past players with his long stride and burst. Nunes’s close control when dribbling is like a seasoned Wideman, knowing exactly how to bait defenders and manipulate the ball past them. He moves in almost a gazelle-like motion, gliding past players and suddenly changing the pace of the attack. Nunes’s ball carrying is a bit like Declan Rice, where he will often receive, turn on the ball and drive forward, utilising that as a means to progress the attack rather than cutting through the lines with his passing. This skill set enables him to advance play repeatedly (like he did on numerous occasions vs Man city).
This clip is a perfect assessment of Nunes’ skillset. He initially maintains possession locally, drawing KDB towards him. After that opens up central space behind KDB and Foden, he uses a directional touch, controlling the ball to the left of KDB and against his momentum before using his burst and stride to drive through the centre, breaking the press and taking Sporting up the pitch.
NOTE: I want to highlight the weight and the slight under-hit nature of that pass from Nunes, killing the momentum of the attack and allowing Manchester City to catch up. More on that later.
Nunes isn’t just a ball retentive second-phase player, as he likes playing higher up as an eight and participating in combinations higher up the pitch. He also loves a late run into the box. He scores his goals mostly from arriving behind the forward line at the penalty spot/edge of the box or making a surprise dart past them (a common trademark Nunes run will be him starting in the half spaces before running beyond the last line).
Here is an example of his ability to arrive late into the box.
Another example. Nunes recognises the clear space in the Benfica backline and makes an aggressive run while showing incredible acceleration and sprint speed to run 50+ yards and score.
Nunes is a hard worker, willingly engaging in the defensive side deep inside his half or high up the pitch. With his lanky frame, long legs and running power, Nunes can ground quickly and make challenges by wrapping his legs around or across the man in possession to win the balls and trigger transitions. His work ethic holds up in the data, where he is in the 82nd percentile for Pressures and makes over 3.5 tackles and interceptions per ninety minutes. He is also a good defender during set pieces, standing zonally in the six-yard box and clearing corners in his area, where he is in the 73rd percentile for Pressures.
Despite his best efforts, Nunes’ defensive play can use work, as his defensive intensity and discipline are dependent on having a direct marker. If he is covering a zone/space and has to read situations, he is prone to mistakes. He tends to passively shuttle from side to side or even get drawn to the ball (ala a certain Scott Mctominay) and hence be bypassed with passes or leave spaces behind him.
In the game against Benfica, there were multiple occasions where Nunes got caught between different players, getting drawn out to press Weigl but not fully committing, meaning that he was doing nothing while leaving the half-spaces exposed. While part of it was a tactical mistake made by Ruben Amorim on the day, Nunes didn’t commit forward or backwards, causing Sporting huge issues.
Nunes Profile and playing education:
Nunes has the composure and technique to receive in congested areas and the centre of the most intense pressing structures. After that, he jinks past the pressure and carries, switches or keeps the ball moving. He’s not the most progressive passer but doesn’t need to be because of the invaluable output he gives as a controlling 8, who can act as a +1 in the build-up.
He is the ideal player to play on the left or right of a midfield 3, coming deeper to add an extra player to the build-up and break the phase. At the same time, he is not a Thiago/Tielemans style eight who controls and progresses from deep.
Instead, his utilisation is better in a Gundogan or Xhaka-type role, being allowed to drift wide or higher up as an interior and participate in wide triangulations and combinations while making runs in behind. He also can be considered a better physical profile of how FDJ should be used by his managers, with better ball striking, two-footedness and slightly less refined passing technique.
He’d be an upgrade on Xhaka for the left of that Arsenal 4–3–3. He could dovetail beautifully with Zinchenko and Martinelli, capable of receiving the ball in any of the positions of Arsenal’s fluid wide triangulations. His desire to receive and dictate would also help them solve opposition schemes, usually involving preventing Thomas Partey from receiving.
In Possession, A team should play him in a 3–1/2–1 build-up where he can drop in to make a double pivot, shift to the side or play as an interior. His physical profile (height + long legs) means that he can ably do this, playing in conjunction with a passing 6 with defensive nous. Nunes will get on the ball, shield and relieve pressure before the pivot penetrates while also pushing forward and combining, knowing that he has cover behind (like Palhinha covered for him at Sporting). His utilisation would be perfect in this capacity as Nunes’ desire and confidence.
Look at this clip. Nunes drops in, creating a 3–2 structure in the build-up. He resists the pressure and finds an intelligent pass to the dropping Sporting forward (Who takes a horrible touch inside rather than letting the ball roll into the space and proceeds to drive into pressure). After the play breaks down, he reacts well, reading and moving to block the forward pass, intercepting and then driving past pressure once again to progress the play.
This clip is a perfect example. Initially, Nunes is in the left half-space (before the clip begins). As the ball is brought forward on the left, he drops, creating a local 3v2 vs the Benfica defence. After this, he triangulates with Inacio and Goncalves in the local 3v2 on the left, drawing Benfica. This movement + local play allows Sporting to use Palhinha and open up isolation for Pedro Porro, Something they had been trying the entire match. A perfect example of Nunes offering for the ball, giving a +1 when needed and its benefits in block manipulation.
“You’d call it Pass Appreciation, where you appreciate that pass and what it’s doing, the pace of it, no bounces. Ultimately if you’re passing it to someone, you’re passing it to them for them to do something with it instantly. If they’ve got to take a touch and then another touch to get a hold of the ball, it’s not a great pass.” ~ Michael Carrick, The Bootroom.
Nunes is a lovely ball striker, a pretty ambipedal footballer, allowing him to switch play with either foot (as well as improving his ability to arrive from deep and score) and has a great consistency of technique. However, Nunes’s passing game needs refining. There are just small intangibles which show the places he still has to develop. Details like the weight of pass, foot and height of the control (akin to what Carrick explained above) for the receiver are places he is still lacking.
Here is an example. In this clip, Nunes is between the lines, looking to receive. He then drifts wide, finding space to receive and Sporting triangulate on the left, creating a massive gap in the middle for Sarabia.
All that’s left is for Nunes to open up his body and find him between the lines, but the details aren’t there. The pass is bouncy and overhit, making it a difficult ball to bring down and utilise on the turn from Sarabia. It’s also distant from the Sporting interior, causing him to lose possession. A lovely tactical sequence breaks down as a result.
Here is another sequence showing him lacking in details. Here, he is intelligently occupying the left half-space as Sporting build down the right. As sporting switch towards him (as he is the free man), he initially shows his directional touch, bringing the ball down while eliminating the Porto defender simultaneously. It’s his dribbling instinct coming to the fore. However, He once again fires the ball too hard, making it difficult to control. Luckily, the technique from the Sporting forward is good so despite the overhit ball from Nunes forcing Sporting wide, they end up scoring anyway.
This sequence perhaps sums up the good about Matheus Nunes. Here, Sporting are down to 10 men at the Estádio do Dragão and are desperately trying to cling on. In this circumstance, Nunes was with tracking the left back all the way. He did so really well, nearly intercepting the long ball but then staying alert, preventing a cross and stealing the ball. After, he shows excellent retention & technique in a tight area (use of the body, ball roles, directional touches) to maintain possession against numerous Porto players before finding a clever progressive ball on his weak foot and releasing the pressure. It’s a sequence of excellent defensive efforts and an immaculate show of his composure.
Even so, look at the weight of that left-footed pass. Nunes needlessly boots the ball at the man at the edge of the box, where a simple yet firm ball would have sufficed. The overhit nature probably causes the touch to deviate to the flanks causing the play to die down.
The above sequence also subliminally highlights one more thing, his gravity. Nunes isn’t the player to play the line-breaking ball from deep or the final ball. However, with his stylistic and physical profile, confidence and composure to receive anywhere, he is the “gravitational pull” of a midfield. The player who’ll receive in tight pockets when you are under pressure, resist and bring people towards him before finding a safe ball, which allows the team to progress elsewhere. This quality made him operate as a build-up solver for Amorim’s Sporting.
All this isn’t me saying he can’t develop into a top passer. He has the technical tools to improve his passing details and education, learning incision from deep, pausa etc. It’s me saying that Nunes’s passing is a rough tool in need of smoothening and sharpening. A top coach can turn him into the complete weapon, capable of playing as a deeper lying passer in the Elite sides.
How does he slot into Wolves?
Nunes is an ideal partner for Neves and Moutinho in a midfield 3. Both the other two are predominantly passing midfielders who don’t offer any threat into the box or press breaking, aiding Bruno Lage’s build-up from deep. He also provides them with Pnp, height in midfield to compete in duels and the burst and speed to defend and attack in transition. His ball control and gravity will work well with Neves, who has mellowed out over the years and developed into a top passing midfielder. He could fit into any of Bruno Lage’s preferred lineups, playing in the 3–4–3, 3–5–2 or even the 4–4–2/4–3–3 that they have sporadically played. He can act as their PnP guy, their press dispeller, their impetus and their box threat from midfield in many systems while not having any glaring flaws that can handicap Wolves. In short, he is a deadly new weapon in a midfield now burgeoning with talent.
All in all, Wolves have stolen one from the big boys. Matheus Nunes is ready to take the next step and stand his ground in the best league in the world. He adds another dimension to Lage’s bow and has the possibility of elevating Wolves back into the European places. Yet again, Wolverhampton Wanderers have reached into their Portuguese treasure box and picked a gem.
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Also, do check out some additional Nunes thoughts that I didnt include in this article that ill be including on Twitter. Cheers!
