BBC pundit says £53m Man City fringe player has to turn up this season 

Players of Manchester City celebrate winning the penalty shoot-out during the 2024 FA Community Shield match between Manchester United and Manchest…

BBC pundit says £53m Man City fringe player has to turn up this season

The 2024/25 Premier League season is now officially underway.

After making history and becoming the first side to win four top-flight titles in a row last season, Manchester City will kick off their latest campaign with an away clash against Chelsea on Sunday.

Ahead of their latest season where the Blues will be looking to win another league trophy, a pundit has pinpointed one particular player in Pep Guardiola’s ranks he thinks has to prove himself as a City player over the next few months.

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Ruben Dias of Manchester City with Matheus Nunes and Bernardo Silva of Manchester City during the 2024 FA Community Shield match between Manchest…

Don Hutchison claims Matheus Nunes needs to show up for Man City this season

On the subject of City’s squad heading into this new campaign, Don Hutchison had this to say about Matheus Nunes in a recent episode of Premier League Kick-Off on BBC Radio 5 Live.

He said: “Obviously, Kalvin Phillips has moved on, but Matheus Nunes needs a season where he needs to prove to everyone that when Rodri is not fit, he can be the man.

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“Jack Grealish, I think, he has got a really important season to try and stay fit.”

Nunes must take his chances to impress

City paid £53m to bring Nunes to the Etihad Stadium during the previous summer transfer window from Wolves.

In his debut season with the Blues, the midfielder appeared in 29 games across all competitions, 14 of which he started.

Back in May, it was reported that Guardiola views Nunes as a useful player and would like to give him more minutes.

In last weekend’s Community Shield victory over Manchester United, Nunes started on the substitutes bench before replacing Nico O’Reilly in the 63rd minute and scoring one of the penalties in the shootout.

Now that Hutchison has said that the Portuguese international needs to prove himself this season, there’s no doubt that he’ll have to do all he can to make the most of any opportunities he gets to play to force himself into becoming a more prominent player in the City team.