Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola does not think Matheus Nunes is clever enough to play in midfield and, as a result, wants him to grow into his right-back role.
Nunes joined City in August 2023 as a replacement for Ilkay Gundogan and has since made 62 appearances in all competitions for them.
But despite originally joining the club as a midfielder, nine of Nunes’ 14 starts in the league this season have come in defence. Each of his last eight consecutive starts have been at right back, including in City’s 0-0 draw away to Manchester United on Sunday.
“He [Nunes] can become a good right-back for his physicality,” Guardiola told reported, as quoted by ESPN.
“I think he’s not a player to play in midfield because he’s not clever enough, in the composure, but he has incredible skills and he’s learning a lot.
“The big mistake of full-backs is when you have the cross to the far post where you are, they are always sleeping.
“But he defended really well two or three crosses, like when Bruno [Fernandes] put it to the far post for [Patrick] Dorgu.
“He has the attention and the physicality to do it, so he can play in that position and help us a lot.”
Kevin De Bruyne completed just 69% of his passes at Old Trafford today (20 of 29), his lowest passing accuracy in any of the 20 games the Belgian has started for Man City this season.#MUNMCI pic.twitter.com/ozUGxQzAij
— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) April 6, 2025
With Kyle Walker on loan at AC Milan and reportedly close to a permanent exit, Guardiola seems keen to nail down his full-time replacement.
They brought in both Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis in the January transfer window, though the former has made a hot-and-cold start at the club having made one error leading directly to a goal.
Nunes, meanwhile, has made an average of 2.24 tackles and 0.95 interceptions per 90 minutes in the league this season, ranking second and fourth respectively among City players to have featured more than twice.
“When you start the season, if you said ‘Matheus will play right-back’ you would ask what I’m talking about,” said Guardiola.
“But it is what it is. The back four was excellent [against United]. Rúben [Dias] was incredible. So we build from that.”
