Wolves sign Matheus Nunes in a club-record £42.2m deal

Wolverhampton Wanderers have announced the signing of Sporting Lisbon midfielder Matheus Nunes in a deal worth up to £42.2 million.

The deal for the Portugal international will eclipse the £35m paid for Fabio Silva two years ago. The 23-year-old is in line to make his debut in Saturday’s game at Tottenham.

Nunes completed his medical at Compton and put pen to paper to sign a five-year deal. The West-Midlands based club secured the deal with an inital £38m fee and a further £4.2m in performance-related add ons.

Wolves have had a long-standing interest in the Portuguese playmaker and even fought off interest from the likes of Liverpool and West Ham.

Nunes, who played against his new club in a pre-season friendly last month, joined Sporting from Estoril in 2019. The attacking midfielder has had a successful three year spell at the club, making 76 appearances and scoring seven goals.

His impressive performances in the league helped the Lions qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in four years.

Wolves’ new signing has eight caps and one goal for his country, having made his debut for Portugal last year. It is likely Nunes also makes the squad for the World Cup in Qatar.

Bruno Lage’s desire to bring in a central midfielder intensified following Joao Moutinho’s injury, which left the Wolves boss with just two senior midfielders for the start of the new season.

The Black Country side were patient in their pursuit of Nunes as the club viewed him as the perfect player for their side. Nunes is a progressive ball carrier, who can operate in a number six, eight or ten role.

It is likely that Nunes will partner Neves and Moutinho in midfield, with Wolves starting the season in a 4-3-3 rather than the typical 5-2-3 which they deployed last season.

Upon his arrival at the club, he revealed:

“I’m very excited. For me, I could play tomorrow already, but I can’t because the game is Saturday, but I’m looking forward to it.

“I think the club itself [convinced him] and also I spoke to some of my teammates because I play with them for the national team. The coach as well, he really wanted me, and I wanted to play in the Premier League. I think it’s the right next step for me and I’m very happy to be here.”

Nunes is Wolves’ third signing of the summer and is set to add to the influx of Portuguese talent already at Molineux. Bruno Lage’s side had already strengthened this summer with the arrivals of Goncalo Guedes and Nathan Collins.

The Wolves boss will be hoping Nunes makes an instant impact and help his side gain European qualification for next season.

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