The 23-year-old dynamic midfielder, who was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has penned a five-year deal at Molineux, with a one-year option, bringing an end to his successful stint in Lisbon.
An exciting talent, Nunes didn’t blossom until later in his youth career having moved to Portugal at the age of 12, with the midfielder still playing local football in the Lisbon Football Association until he was 19, before signing with Estoril in the summer of 2018, where he joined a side including new Wolves teammate Toti.
Impressing against Sporting in the Taca de Liga group stages, Nunes was brought to the club shortly after, spending time in the under-23 team before experiencing his breakthrough season in 2020/21.
𝐿𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑠, 𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑎, 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏!
— Wolves (@Wolves) August 17, 2022
Welcome, Matheus.
🎬✍️ pic.twitter.com/3wLD0QCLm5
During that campaign, Nunes earned a regular place in the Sporting starting line-up and helped the team to a Portuguese double, securing the Primeira Liga and Taca de Liga titles, while scoring three goals and providing three assists.
Although Sporting were unable to make it successive league titles the following season, on a personal level, Nunes had a campaign to remember, with his goals and assists in green and white seeing him named Primeira Liga Midfielder of the Month in both October and November 2021, before earning a place in the league’s Team of the Year for 2021/22.
On the international stage, Nunes was first called up to represent Brazil, the country of his birth, on his 23rd birthday last August, but choosing to turn down the call, he instead opted to play for Portugal.
Nunes won the first of his eight international caps in October 2021, starting a 3-0 friendly win over Qatar, where he made his debut alongside Joao Moutinho, Nelson Semedo and Goncalo Guedes.
A regular starter under national team boss Fernando Santos during the last 12 months, Nunes scored his first international goal against Turkey in March, helping his country to a place at the 2022 World Cup this winter.
Wolves chairman Jeff Shi said: “We are very happy to welcome Matheus to Wolverhampton, and delighted to add another exciting young talent to Bruno’s squad.
“Matheus has had two excellent seasons at the top level in Portugal with Sporting and is widely regarded as one of the most exciting prospects in world football, so we are thrilled that he has chosen the Premier League and Wolves as the next step in what we hope will be a fantastic career.”
Now linking up with several of his international teammates, the midfielder arrived at Compton Park on Wednesday, and after completing his medical, will join Bruno Lage’s squad ahead of the Premier League fixture with Tottenham Hotspur this weekend.
