Rumour Mongering: Liverpool Prepare €45M Matheus Nunes Bid

Earlier in the summer, Liverpool were linked with Sporting CP’s 23-year-old attacking midfielder Matheus Nunes, but journalists with ties to the club were quick to throw cold water on the rumours and it appeared Arsenal were the likelier English destination.

Following last weekend’s injury to Thiago Alcantara that will see the midfield creator sidelined now for around six weeks, though, there has been an inevitable attempt to revive the Nunes to Liverpool story by outlets in Portugal including Correio da Manhã.

They say Nunes would be available for €45M, or around £38M, a discount compared to earlier chatter that had the Rio-born player who has represented Portugal at the senior level internationally only available if somebody was willing to pay a €60M transfer fee.

While it’s a more realistic price tag for the talented attacking midfielder, the reality is that his profile as a player overlaps more with that of new signing Fabio Carvalho than it does with Thiago—or known targets like Aurélien Tchouaméni and Jude Bellingham.

An improved price for a target the Reds are genuinely interested in could yet see them move for a midfielder this summer despite previous suggestions they will wait to move for Bellingham in 2023, but it remains difficult to see Nunes as a genuine target.