Pep Guardiola makes Matheus Nunes admission amid club stance on 2026 January window | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has heaped praise upon Matheus Nunes following a series of stellar displays at right-back from the Portugal international.

Nunes is enjoying arguably his best spell of form since the 27-year-old joined Manchester City from Wolves in the summer of 2023 – taking full advantage of the absence of an out-and-out right-back in Pep Guardiola’s squad.

The Portugal international has been a regular feature in City’s lineups of late as the Blues look to forego their troubles of the recent season and mount a serious challenge for major trophies in the backdrop of making seven new signings in the recent transfer window.

City are in a rich vein of form and have avoided defeat in all competitions since the end of August, gradually getting their mojo back and rising to second place in the Premier League table after eight games and making a strong start to their UEFA Champions League group-stage season.

The Blues were in the market for a new right-back in the summer after Kyle Walker joined Burnley upon his return from a loan at AC Milan, with Newcastle’s Valentino Livramento and AS Roma’s Wesley França of interest.

However, it is understood that officials at the Etihad Stadium – led by City’s newly-appointed director of football Hugo Viana – did not find the ideal candidate to serve as Walker’s long-term replacement in line with he club’s finances.

Livramento was deemed too expensive and there was a growing belief within the club that right-back was not an urgent area of concern to address, with the likes of Abdukodir Khusanov, Matheus Nunes, Rico Lewis and John Stones capable of operating in the position.

Nunes, in particular, is staking a strong claim to be the answer to Manchester City’s doubts at right-back and Guardiola has extolled the Portuguese’ virtues ahead of Sunday’s trip to face Aston Villa.

“He can be an incredible right-back,” Guardiola said on Nunes in a press conference on Friday afternoon.

“Because he’s a holding midfielder with incredible physicality going back – and as much as he’s focussed – he can become one of the best. It’s a question of him now, we talked a lot about that.

“It’s just change your mind and feel that you can feel that, because he has special attributes to play in the sides. In the last two or three games, he has played unbelievable!”

Nunes is expected to retain his place in the starting XI against Aston Villa at the weekend as Manchester City look to maintain the pressure on title rivals and league leaders Arsenal, who are three points clear of the Blues in first place.