Man City AGREE £60m Nunes transfer with wonderkid going to Wolves
Suraj Radia
- 30 Aug 2023 15:26 BST
- 3 min read
Manchester City have finally hit a breakthrough in their pursuit of Matheus Nunes after Wolves agreed a deal of up to £60 million for their prized midfielder.
City had been chasing Nunes following the collapse of their move for Lucas Paqueta due to the investigation into him by the FA over potential betting breaches.
An initial bid of £47m was rejected by Wolves last week but negotiations continued after Nunes refused to report to training this week in order to push a move through.
STRIKE!: How Nunes pushed for City transfer
A deal was eventually reached after City agreed to loan young midfielder Tommy Doyle to Wolves in a separate deal which includes an option to buy of £5m plus a significant sell-on.
The Athletic claim that the package is considered higher than the initial fee, believed to be €55m (£47.5m), because City will pay interest of £6m in order to finance the deal to give Wolves the money up front.
Doyle is also thought to be valued at £15m by Wolves, having led Sheffield United to promotion to the Premier League while on loan last season, giving Gary O’Neill’s side value outside of the fee for Nunes.
Nunes only joined Wolves last summer from Sporting Lisbon for a club-record fee of £42m and was previously described by City boss Pep Guardiola as ‘one of the best players in the world’ when the clubs faced each other in the Champions League.
City finally get De Bruyne replacement
City have been keen to sign a creative midfielder since Kevin de Bruyne was ruled out for up to four months with a hamstring injury.
Paqueta was the club’s top target and City were believed to have agreed a deal with West Ham worth £85m for the Brazilian before the investigation was revealed.
The likes of Ebrechi Eze and Dani Olmo were also considered but Nunes was believed to be Guardiola’s ideal target and personal terms were quickly agreed between the player and City.
DONE DEALS: All the transfers from the Premier League this summer
Doyle, meanwhile, impressed at Sheffield United and was a part of England under-21s European Championship success this summer but he has made just one Premier League appearance for City in his career.
