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Manchester City midfielder Matheus Nunes is attracting interest from Naples as the Portugal international assesses his long-term prospects at the Etihad Stadium, as per reports in Italy.

Nunes joined Manchester City from Wolves for £53 million in 2023 and was allowed to operate in his preferred attacking midfield position for much of his debut season under Pep Guardiola, with the 27-year-old forging a strong relationship on the pitch with Erling Haaland and Phil Foden.

However, Guardiola has deemed Nunes incapable of operating in his three-man midfield, despite previously labelling the Portuguese as the world’s best midfielder when Nunes was still playing for Sporting Lisbon.

Guardiola’s sudden change in stance on Nunes has perplexed Manchester City fans, a large number of whom feel Nunes has a lot to offer should he be given a consistent run of games in his natural advanced midfield position.

As for Nunes, the former Wolves star has not been bogged down with Guardiola’s public comments on his prospects in midfield and has kept his head down to play his way into the Manchester City manager’s thinking.

While he is by no means a guaranteed starter at the Etihad Stadium, Nunes has been a vital stand-in for Manchester City at right-back since the turbulent 2024-25 season, when Kyle Walker sought exile in Italy midway through the campaign and left the Blues without a natural right-back in their ranks.

Nunes received criticism for his error-prone displays in defence in his early months of operating on the right side of defence but the Portugal international has come into his own and certainly turned a corner since the business end of the 2024-25 season.

The midfielder scored a vital last-gasp goal against Aston Villa in April to clinch a 2-1 triumph for Manchester City in their race to finish in the Premier League top-four last term, going from strength to strength since and staking a greater claim for more minutes this season.

However, there may be a belief in Nunes’ camp that the Manchester City star would easily start in midfield for most of Europe’s best sides as he enters the prime of his professional career amid doubts over his long-term prospects under Guardiola.

As reported by Italian outlet TuttoSport and relayed by Sport Witness, Napoli are keen on adding Nunes to their ranks in the January transfer window owing largely to the Manchester City star’s versatility.

Nunes is represented by super agent Jorge Mendes and discussions are ongoing behind the scenes in Naples on a possible deal with Manchester City – whose stance on a sale for Nunes is unknown – after they allowed Kevin De Bruyne to leave on a free transfer and join the Serie A champions in June.

Manchester City are unlikely to sanction a mid-season exit for Nunes unless the Portuguese himself expresses a desire to leave, with Guardiola unwilling to keep unhappy players in his squad, though it remains to be seen whether Nunes is still keen to fight for a starting spot at Manchester City or seek the exit door.