Atletico Madrid are exploring the potential loan signing of Manchester City midfielder Matheus Nunes.

City are yet to receive any offers for the Portuguese or make a decision on his availability ahead of Friday’s transfer deadline.

Nunes joined City from Wolverhampton Wanderers in a €62million (£53.2m; $67.6m) deal last summer. The 25-year-old only made 16 starts across all competitions for City last season, though, featuring a further 15 times as a substitute.

Nunes made his first Premier League appearance of the new season as a late substitute in Saturday’s 4-1 home victory over Ipswich Town. He had previously been an unused substitute in their 2-0 win at Chelsea, having also come off the bench in the Community Shield against Manchester United a week earlier.

City have moved to strengthen their midfield this summer by re-signing Ilkay Gundogan on a free transfer from Barcelona. The German made his comeback as a 71st-minute substitute against Ipswich.

Atletico have also reinforced their midfield with the €42m addition of Conor Gallagher from Chelsea, who made his first appearance for his new side during their 3-0 home win over Girona on Sunday night. They have already done business with City during this transfer window with the acquisition of World Cup winner Julian Alvarez in a deal worth up to €95m.

Nunes joined Wolves from Sporting Lisbon in a deal worth up to £42m in the summer of 2022. He played 41 times for Wolves during his only season at Molineux.