Matheus Nunes has admitted he doesn’t actually mind operating in wider position for Wolves – for him, it is simply about playing.
Wanderers rounded off their pre-season in style yesterday with a 3-1 win over Rennes at Molineux.
And Nunes was the star of the show against the Ligue 1 side.
The maestro showed off his technical brilliance for Wanderers and was at the heart of everything.
It was a brilliant sight to see.
Nunes disappointed too often in his first season. There were flashes of brilliance, but the general consensus was that he lacked consistency.
To be fair, he perhaps wasn’t helped by being asked to play out wide.
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But Nunes said yesterday that this isn’t something that doesn’t bother him.
Matheus Nunes happy with wide role at Wolves – he just wants to play
Nunes spoke after the game about being played in wider positions for Wolves.
Primarily, Nunes is a central box-to-box midfielder.
But his speed with the ball and his dribbling ability make him an option to almost play as a winger at times.
Some don’t feel this gets the best of Nunes.
But the player himself doesn’t mind being asked to play in that role.
He said (Express & Star): “We are human beings, we have to adapt in every sense. Of course, I love playing my position, but the biggest thing is to play, whether it’s as a goalkeeper or striker, I just want to play.
“Initially it’s hard, especially if it’s a position I haven’t played before, so I have to learn quickly. As three or four games go by, you’re used to it already. I have played on the wing, as a ten, deeper, so you have to adapt
“I enjoy playing my position. But at the end of the day I’m playing and that’s what counts for me. Playing on the wing asks you different things than when I’m playing my position. But I try to be truthful to the way I play.
“I try to make them enjoy my football, sometimes it doesn’t go the way I want, but I can adapt to any position the coach wants me to play and I can offer things in every position.”
Matheus Nunes can make it work on the wing
Nunes has the capacity to play from the wing.
Ideally though, he will drift inside so that he can affect the game more, with Nelson Semedo or Matt Doherty providing width. We saw that yesterday against Rennes when he moved into that inside right channel.
It’s tricky because Wolves have two excellent central midfield players in Joao Gomes and Mario Lemina.
And then, there is Matheus Cunha and Pablo Sarabia who are both capable of playing in the number 10 role.
So it’s understandable Nunes gets shunted out to the right.
But it’s something that could work if the right-back bombs on, allowing Nunes to come inside.
Thankfully, Nunes himself doesn’t seem to mind and hopefully he will eventually become more accustomed to it.