‘I would suggest you don’t’ - Gary O’Neil’s response when quizzed about Matheus Nunes’ Wolves return with Manchester City

Gary O’Neil doesn’t anticipate rousing reception for Matheus Nunes on his return to Molineux on Saturday.

The Portuguese comes up against his former Wolves team-mates for the first time when Manchester City make their way down the M6 for a 3pm kick-off.

The reunion comes exactly a month after the 25-year-old forced through a move to the Etihad by boycotting training.

The 2022 £38m signing from Sporting Lisbon resorted to that tactic after City’s initial bid of £47m was turned down by Wolves.

A £53m fee was finally agreed on August 30, however, as Nunes eventually got his wish.

Since making the big-money move, the 11-times capped Portugal international has featured four times for Pep Guardiola’s Citizens.

He started City’s last Premier League game against Nottingham Forest - his first in the top flight - and is in line to feature against Wolves with Rodri suspended.

Yet O’Neil doesn’t expect the Molineux faithful to roll out the red carpet.

When asked what sort of reception Nunes can expect on his return, he said: ‘No idea. I’m not too sure.

‘You get mixed (reactions) don’t you, so normally when people leave like that I would suggest you don’t. But we’ll see.’

O’Neil only got to work with Nunes for a limited period following his August 9 appointment as Julen Lopetegui’s replacement.

He picked the midfielder twice in that time, with the Portuguese starting the games against Manchester United and Brighton before throwing the towel in on his Wolves career.

O’Neil knows his players will need to be ready for Nunes, who will be keen to impress.

But he’ll not be afforded any special treatment, with champions City boasting a host of world-class players.

O’Neil added: ‘He (Nunes) is a talented player. When you move for that type of money to the best side in the world, it shows what quality you have.

‘We knew that already from the couple of weeks I spent with him - an incredibly talented boy.

‘Having not done too much thinking about how he’ll do at Manchester City over the next three years, it’s not really for me (to speak about his future).

‘But he looks like he’s played a decent part in their recent games, the home win against Nottingham Forest.

‘So, yeah I expect him to play and like all the rest of their fantastic players, we’ll have a plan in place where we’ll make sure we have our say in it as well.’