Manchester City is looking to make late additions largely in response to Kevin De Bruyne’s major injury. The Belgian is out for at least four months with a hamstring injury. It is the same one that forced an early exit in last season’s UEFA Champions League Final.
Having already added De Bruyne’s compatriot Jeremy Doku, City is looking to add to its depth with a pair of midfielders now circling the club’s radar. The first option is Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze. The English international is one of the fastest-growing stars in the Premier League. Eze had a strong close to the 2022/23 campaign with six goals in the club’s last nine games in the Premier League.
The other option is Matheus Nunes from Wolverhampton Wanderers. David Ornstein of The Athletic reports the 24-year-old midfielder is high on the list of City’s potential candidates for the midfield. In his debut season in England last year, Nunes played in 34 league games. He scored one goal and grabbed one assist.
Both Nunes and Eze rose as possibilities following the collapse of a deal for West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta. City was nearing a big-money deal to sign the Brazilian. However, that fell through due to a lack of transparency. Eventually, news broke of Paqueta facing betting allegations for deliberately picking up yellow cards.
Therefore, Eze and Nunes present an opportunity to bring on Premier League-proven midfielders that can help bear the load of De Bruyne’s absence.
Manchester City making other additions and subtractions in the market
If Manchester City is to get back to the heights of last season, depth will play a key role. On Wednesday, the club said goodbye to Aymeric Laporte and prepared to offload Joao Cancelo. However, the club did extend Bernardo Silva on the wings. These two rumors would indicate Manchester City is not done making additions in the transfer window.
Daily Mail reports Eze’s fee could reach around $85 million. Nunes does not have a reported fee, yet, it should also be in that same region, if not a little lower. Manchester City has spent fairly big this window, as Josko Gvardiol is the most expensive defender of all time. Still, City is not done, as it pushes for more trophies under Pep Guardiola.
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