Matheus Nunes has admitted his form wasn’t where it needed to be for Wolves before the World Cup.
The 24-year-old joined the club in the summer from Sporting CP for £42 million.
Fans were absolutely delighted with his acquisition. Some simply couldn’t believe Wolves actually managed to sign him – a player Pep Guardiola said earlier this year was one of the best midfielders in the world.
But Nunes hasn’t really managed to get going yet at Molineux.
There have been flashes of his quality.
But the consistency hasn’t been there, and there have been games that have just passed him by.
Arguably, he hasn’t really been used correctly so far.
He was most effective at Sporting playing in a midfield two. At Wolves so far, he’s played mostly as an attacking midfielder.
Nunes admits that he hasn’t quite been at it so far, and is determined to improve in 2023.
He said (Wolves official): “I put more pressure on myself because I want to be the best, but I don’t think I did enough. I have the hunger now to get to where I want to be.
“I want to be better than I was in the last six months, and I think these first six months of 2023 are going to be better individually for me. I have that in my mind and I’m pretty sure that I’m going to show that.”
So far in the two games Wolves have had under Lopetegui, Nunes has started on the bench.
Against Everton on Boxing Day, he made a big impact. It was he that led the counter-attack that Rayan Ait-Nouri finished off in injury-time.
Potentially, his contribution could see him back in the starting XI against Manchester United on Saturday.
Matheus Nunes will show his class for Wolves in 2023 under Julen Lopetegui
Wolves fans should be exciting about Nunes in 2023.
We know that his class is there, it’s just about getting it out of him and picking a system that will allow him to flourish.
The comments he has made are good to read.
He has acknowledged that he was a bit below par before the World Cup. And he seems very determined to improve next year. He was already thinking about Wolves when Portugal got eliminated by Morocco, saying ‘I wanted to come back to Compton to train straight away’.
He knows there was a lot of hype about his signing, and he clearly wants to justify why Wolves paid what they did.