Matheus Nunes is linked with a transfer to Everton. (imago Images)
According to a report by Portuguese outlet Record (h/t Liverpool Echo), Sporting CP have put a €20million price tag for Everton transfer target, Matheus Nunes. The Blues have been linked with the Brazilian during the summer transfer window and the Liga NOS side would be willing to sell if their valuation is met.
Nunes started out his senior career at Ericeirense before a move to Estoril Praia in the summer of 2018. In the following winter transfer window, Sporting came in for him and the midfielder has been at the Lisbon-based club since. But, is he a player that Everton boss Rafael Benitez needs at Goodison Park this summer?
The midfield situation at Everton is a peculiar one. Both their playmakers, James Rodriguez and Gylfi Sigurdsson, face uncertain futures at the club and were absent against Southampton on the opening day of the new Premier League season. The Colombian, in particular, can leave the club this summer.
According to Liverpool Echo, the club is even open to letting the 30-year-old ex-Real Madrid star leave this summer. The Iceland international, meanwhile, continues to baffle football fans by his unexplained absence from first-team football. His contract also runs out in the summer of 2022.
So dire was the situation for Benitez against the Saints that he had to field winger, and new summer signing, Demarai Gray, as a number 10. Moreover, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Tom Davies, and Allan are all midfielders whose deals expire within two years. In such a situation, it is important to future-proof the club’s midfield.
Even Fabian Delph is out of contract next summer and Jean Philippe-Gbamin is, at least paper, the club’s sole natural option in defensive midfield. A lot of these headaches can be assuaged to some extent by bringing in someone like Matheus Nunes. The youngster, at 22, can play anywhere in the centre of the park.
And at his age, he would be able to give his best years at Goodison Park. That is, of course, only if Benitez manages to land the midfielder who has never played senior football for a club outside Portugal. The aforementioned valuation of the player by Sporting CP also seems fair considering the player’s age and ability.
If someone like James Rodriguez is to leave the club, it would be an added boost to the club’s wage bill. The Colombian international is believed to be earning around £7million a year at the Liverpool-based club. These funds can then potentially be put forth in any deal for Nunes – if Everton decide to formalize their interest in him.
