Gary O’Neil has said he expects Matheus Nunes to remain at Wolves beyond Friday’s transfer deadline day with Manchester City yet to lodge an improved offer for the Portugal international, who has stopped training in a bid to force through a move.
City last week saw a £47million bid rejected for the 25-year-old, who moved to Molineux for a club-record £38million last summer, and O’Neil said the champions were yet to return with a better offer.
“He’s not with the group at the moment, his choice,” O’Neil said. “After the bid from Manchester City he decided it was best for him to not to be with the group. Club policy and how we deal with things like that is set in place.
“As far as I’m aware there’s been no improved bid. Matheus Nunes is still our player, we have a long contract still with him and at this moment I fully expect him to be here come September 2.
“The next few days will be key of course and conversations will take place that will be private between me and Matheus and I’m sure the situation will be resolved.”
Speaking after watching a much-changed Wolves line-up brush aside League One Blackpool 5-0 to reach the third round of the Carabao Cup, O’Neil stopped short of criticising Nunes’ actions, saying he first needed to speak to the player.
“You never need (to stop training) but players do,” he said. “You’ve seen it all over the country, I’ve seen it when I was playing, we’ve seen it in recent transfer windows, I can think of one in January, and it won’t change how the club deals with any bids or any situation.
“He definitely didn’t (need to) and there is a way to deal with these things but I’ll keep most of my thoughts private for when I speak with Matheus.
“I will speak to him and there will be advisors and representatives and there’s a lot of things that go on – it’s too simplistic to say ‘he’s done this and we think that’. There’s a lot involved in situations like this.
“For me to try and answer in a press conference without Matheus for me to speak to about it and understand exactly where everything is is probably unfair…I’ll save my opinions until after I’ve spoken to him.”
Asked how easily Nunes would be reintegrated into the squad should he stay at Molineux, O’Neil said: “The conversation and our understanding of the situation will be the deciding factor. At this moment I don’t have enough information to make an accurate decision on it.”
Regardless of how the situation with Nunes plays out, Wolves go into the final few days of the transfer window with work to do. Daniel Podence is out of favour and seemingly on his way out, while Goncalo Guedes has returned to Benfica on loan – a move which frees up space on the wage bill.
“I’m excited because I’m still convinced that on September 2 the squad will be in a better place than it was last week,” O’Neil added. “I’m excited for the next few days…
“Does that mean there’s going to be loads of players arriving? Possibly, possibly not. But we’re as well prepared as we can be for the end of a transfer window where things can move quickly.”
Wolves saw off Blackpool with a brace from Matt Doherty, and goals from Sasa Kalajdzic, Fabio Silva, and debutant Nathan Fraser, leaving the Seasiders without a win or a goal in five matches.
“It was a difficult night against really good players, a good team,” Blackpool boss Neil Critchley said.
“Everything just seems to be going against us a little bit…But I can’t fault the players in the way they went about the game and they went after it.”
Taylor proud of 'gritty' Man City display in Hammarby victory
Gareth Taylor was pleased with how his Manchester City players handled the atmosphere against Hammarby to secure their passage into the Champions League quarter-finals.
Khadija Shaw opened the scoring in the 31st minute before Ellen Wangerheim restored parity shortly after the interval with a finish from close range.
But Shaw continued her fine start to the campaign, scoring the winner to become City's all-time top scorer in the competition, surpassing Georgia Stanway and Janine Beckie (both six).
The result saw City make it to the last eight of the competition for the first time since 2021, though the encounter was far from comfortable at the Tele2 Arena on Thursday.
Hammarby ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.15 compared to the visitors' 1.07, despite both sides having 14 shots throughout the match.
However, City maintained their unbeaten record against Swedish sides in the competitor (W6), and Taylor was proud of his side's "gritty" display in Stockholm.
“I’m really pleased. It was about qualification for us tonight," Taylor said.
"There were a couple of ways we could do it. Obviously, we knew a point was enough, but I don’t think the players were thinking that way.
“It was a really gritty performance on a really difficult on this pitch. It probably doesn’t look like that for the viewers at home watching it.
"But it was a really lively surface and we worked so hard.
“I felt there were some areas we could control the play better. I have to give credit to Hammarby, they were really aggressive.
"The referee was on our side a little bit in the first half and maybe not in the second.
“I’m really pleased and proud of the players, they really dug in tonight. You come away from a hostile environment with a win.”
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
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