WOLVES BOSS Julen Lopetegui has indicated Matheus Nunes will not be leaving the club.
The 24-year-old player — who Wolves broke their transfer record to sign in August — has been linked with Liverpool.
And, when asked about the Portugal international’s future, Lopetegui said: “I don’t know anything about Matheus. He’s our player, he’s happy here and wants to show his work for us. He is starting to show it but he has to develop for us.”
Regarding potential further incomings in the current transfer window, the manager said: “All of us know we need more players because we have a very short squad, but we are working for this.
“Now, the situation is that we have to put the focus on the players that can play tomorrow and this is all. We are looking for the future, but the more important future is for tomorrow.”
Wolves are second-bottom of the Premier League, a point adrift of safety, after beating Everton 2-1 on Boxing Day and then losing 1-0 at home to Manchester United on New Year’s Eve in their two top-flight games since appointing Lopetegui in November as successor to Bruno Lage.
Villa, who replaced Steven Gerrard with Lopetegui’s fellow Spaniard Unai Emery the same month, have won three of their four league matches since and are 12th in the table.
Lopetegui also on Tuesday revealed Wolves were waiting for an assessment after an unnamed player sustained an injury in training that day.
“We are waiting for the doctor, we have had a new problem today but I prefer not to comment,” he said. “We will wait until this evening to know more about this situation.”
In addition, Lopetegui described Matheus Cunha as a “complete player” as the Brazilian forward prepares for a potential debut on Wednesday.
On Christmas Day, Wolves announced Cunha was joining on loan from Atletico Madrid from January 1 in a move that will become permanent should certain clauses be triggered, reportedly for a club-record fee.
The 23-year-old could make his bow in the West Midlands derby at Aston Villa on Wednesday.
Lopetegui told a press conference: “He’s going to be able to help us at Villa Park. He’s going to be on the squad list.
“The most important thing is that he’s a complete player. We’ve talked about this and I think that we can use him in different situations.
“He’s a forward, of course, but it depends on our way to play, he can play in the middle as an attacking forward, as a second forward or maybe in the wing.
“We are going to change depending on the situation with him, but that’s normal for the kinds of players we have.
“He’s a good player. All good players can provide good skills and good strengths for the team. He’s a very balanced player; he’s very physical but he’s also a very technical player. He has good technical skills, but we can also take advantage of his strengths as a footballer.”
