The Portuguese midfielder went to extremes in the summer in order to force his move to Manchester City and will return to his former club on Saturday.

Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Gary O’Neil is not expecting Matheus Nunes to receive a positive reception when he returns to Molineux for Manchester City on Saturday.

Nunes joined City in a £53million deal on deadline day after being identified by Pep Guardiola as a late option in the summer transfer window. The Blues boss was forced to act quickly after losing Kevin De Bruyne to a long-term injury in the first game of the season against Burnley.

With such little time to find a replacement, Wolves rejected any initial approaches but were forced to negotiate after the Portuguese midfielder refused to train in a bid to force a move. With the cut still stinging, he will return to Molineux as a City player on Saturday and O’Neil isn’t expecting a friendly welcome.

“A talented player,” O’Neil said of Nunes. “He moved for that amount of money to the best side in the world. It shows the quality he has. I knew that from the weeks I spent with him. An incredibly talented boy.

“It looks like he has played a decent part in their recent games. I expect him to play and like all their fantastic players, we have a plan in place.”

Pushed on what kind of reception the midfielder could expect, he said: “I have no idea. You get mixed. When people leave like that, I’d suggest it’s not [positive].”

Despite moments of promise in most games, Wolves have won just one of their opening six Premier League matches and go into the weekend in 16th. On Tuesday evening, they were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Championship side Ipswich Town.

And so the arrival of City, who have won six from six in the league, will not hold much expectation for the home side. But O’Neil refuses to see any game as a ‘free hit’ and has vowed to come out swinging on Saturday.

“I don’t see them as free hits,” he added. “It’s a big task for us but a really good opportunity to see where we’re at, give a good account of ourselves, try and be the best version of us and see where that gets you on the day.

“Manchester City are a fantastic side, probably the best in world football, so you need a lot to align. We need to be bang on our game, have a clear understanding of what we are, what we want it to look like and how we have our way in the game and see what we can get.”