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Matheus Nunes will miss Wolves’ home Carabao Cup game against Blackpool on Tuesday after abandoning training with the club to force a move to Manchester City.
Premier League champions City stepped up their pursuit of Nunes after cooling their interest in West Ham’s Lucas Paqueta and last week a €55million (£47million) offer for the Portuguese attacker was rejected.
While Wolves have received no new offers from City, Nunes has given up training with Gary O’Neil’s side, the PA news agency learned.
The 25-year-old, who arrived on a £42million contract from Sporting Lisbon last summer, was absent from Saturday’s 1-0 win over Everton and will also be absent from the forthcoming second-round cup tie at Molineux.
Nunes faces disciplinary action for his decision to abandon training but could be reinstated if no move is made before the summer transfer window closes at 11pm on Friday.
Head coach O’Neil will also be without Hwang Hee-chan for the game against Blackpool, who sit 15th in Sky Bet League One, with a hamstring injury.
Austria striker Sasa Kalajdzic scored a late winner at Everton in just his third appearance for Wolves in a year after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament on his debut last September.
But O’Neil, who took charge earlier this month, remains cautious about Kalajdzic’s involvement and says his role will remain limited as he makes his way back to full fitness.
He said: “He’s obviously still on his way to getting back to full fitness.” He’s not one to play for 90 minutes every week at this moment.
“It’s hard to tell when you’re going to come in. You only see him working out and everyone tells you he’s been out for a while.
“You’re just trying to gauge him at that moment in relation to the rest of this group and those he’s competing with for a spot.
“He seemed a little behind the rest in terms of sharpness and fitness, but obviously I don’t have a clear picture of what he’s like when he’s flat out either.”
“He understands where he needs to improve and that he needs more time on the pitch and we have to keep working.
“But he also understands that he can still have a huge impact on football games.”
Source : www.independent.co.uk