A few days into the January transfer window and the early December talk of Enzo Fernandez moving to Liverpool has subsided somewhat, with Chelsea now the favourites to land the talented Argentinian.
A story emerged this week from the Midlands regarding target Matheus Nunes. The Telegraph’s John Percy and Sam Wallace have reported the Reds look set to agree on a deal for the Portuguese midfielder, who will join at the end of the season.
On the latest episode of our Journo Insight Show, we asked goal.com’s Neil Jones for his thoughts on the Nunes story.
Neil said:
“First thing to say is that’s a live story. Those two putting their name to that – you can trust that story. There’s an acceptance that these players are just passing through and you’re not going to be building statues. You look at Jota being an example. Had he not injured himself terribly, I think Raul Jimenez would have moved on.
If you’re going to get players dropped on you, as they do, your job is to make them as good as they can be for the time being, wave them goodbye and get the next wave in. Nunes is an interesting one in particular because he was linked in the summer and there was a bit of clamour for Liverpool to get him done. The problem was he joined Wolves so late in the window that he ended up playing for Sporting Lisbon before the window closed. That puts the roadblock in there – he can’t play for Liverpool if they sign him now. He could be registered, but he couldn’t play. Why does it make sense to sign Matheus Nunes? His age, his pedigree. If you know the price and you know the player’s demands, and his agent’s, what it’s going to cost you, that’s a big tick in the box for Liverpool because it enables them to plan everything else around it.”
Redmen Reacts
If this story is to be believed, which it probably should, given that two well-connected Midlands journalists have put their name to it, then Liverpool are filling at least one of their likely midfield spots come the summer. In our Journo Insight show, Neil refers to the story of Javier Mascherano. He was also a highly-rated midfielder that struggled in a bottom-half side, eventually thriving in a red shirt. Hopefully, Nunes can do the same. Unfortunately, this does not address the current issues surrounding the midfield. Matheus will want to be playing Champions League football next season, which at the time of writing looks a long shot. Relying on the likes of Naby Keita to stay fit and perform well consistently could be a gamble too far.
TO HEAR MORE FROM NEIL ON TOPICS SUCH AS ENZO FERNANDEZ, CLICK HERE