Leeds set to ‘rival’ Liverpool for midfielder Reds have no interest in pursuing this summer

Jason Soutar
Reported Leeds target Matheus Nunes during a warm-up

Leeds United have ‘recently asked’ Sporting what their valuation of midfielder Matheus Nunes is, according to reports.

Nunes had a great 2021/22 campaign, playing 50 times for his club across all competitions.


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He also made his debut for the Portuguese national team last October and now has eight caps and one goal to his name.

Unsurprisingly, interest in the 23-year-old is high. Several Premier League sides – including Newcastle United, Liverpool and Wolves – are rumoured to be keen.

However, Leeds – who have raised around £100million through the sales of star players Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha – have lodged an enquiry.

This is according to Portuguese newspaper Record (via Sport Witness). The report claims that Leeds have admired Nunes for a few months.

They were ‘monitoring’ the Portugal midfielder ‘at the same time’ they were embroiled in a relegation battle.

The Whites have now made an enquiry about the player, ‘asking’ Sporting how much it would cost to sign him this summer.

The Portuguese side’s response was that he would cost ‘at least €50m’.

It is believed that Nunes is keen to remain in the Champions League after helping his team reach the knockout stage of last season’s competition.

Leeds can not offer European football of any kind, so it would be fair to rule them out of the running to land the promising midfielder.

Record‘s report mentions the teams that have been linked with Nunes in recent months. The clubs in question are Newcastle, Everton, Bayern Munich, Wolves, Real Madrid and Barcelona.

There is no mention of Liverpool, despite a Liverpool Echo report (citing the Sport Witness report) claiming that Leeds are set to ‘rival’ the Reds for the player’s signature.

There is an emphasis on the ‘rival’ as the Echo claim this in the title and in inverted commas, implying that this had been disclosed elsewhere.

Liverpool have been linked with a move for Nunes in recent weeks, however, reliable journalist James Pearce shut down these rumours by labelling them ‘nonsense’.

Multiple sources have said that the Reds’ transfer business this summer has been concluded already. The Premier League club have brought in Darwin Nunez, Calvin Ramsay and Fabio Carvalho for around £74m.

Furthermore, Jurgen Klopp himself has stated that he does not need to bring in a new midfielder in the summer window. That is a pretty solid source.

“How I said, if nobody wants to leave – and no player came to me with that request yet and I don’t expect it really, to be honest – there is no need for a new midfielder,” he said.

“We cannot just add on midfielders.”