Manchester City receive green light to sign Wolves star in creative transfer
By Evan Curnew
Manchester City are set to have a busy end of the window. As The Top Flight has covered, youngster Cole Palmer could very well make a Premier League switch over Chelsea as the clubs are now deep in discussions on a transfer. While Manchester City are working on this departure, they have also looked to close in on an arrival.
Manchester City reach a verbal agreement for Matheus Nunes from Wolves
David Ornstein of The Athletic is reporting that Manchester City have received a verbal acceptance of their offer from Wolves for midfielder Matheus Nunes. The transfer fee is expected to come in at around £47.2m. Manchester City is expected to pay the transfer fee up-front, but there is interest and clauses on the deal. The Telegraph reports the total package of Nunes’ move to Manchester could reach £60m. As The Top Flight has covered earlier, Matheus Nunes has recently made himself unavailable for training at Wolves in hopes of securing a move away from the West Midlands club.
Going the other way to Wolves is Manchester City youngster Tommy Doyle, who, according to The Athletic, will initially join Wolves on loan but with an option-to-buy for £5m. Manchester City could receive a sell-on clause for Doyle as high as 50%, Fabrizio Romano reports. The deals are separate, but obviously, there was a handshake agreement to do such a deal once the transfer of Matheus Nunes was done.
Wolves have found themselves in a tough spot on the transfer market, having sold a significant amount of players in order to sign the likes of Matheus Cunha and Boubacar Traore on permanent deals after spending last season on loans at the club. Emerging Irish defender Nathan Collins and top midfielder Ruben Nebes have both left the club. Now, with Nunes leaving, Wolves will likely have some level of money to reinvest, but things have been relatively bleak this transfer window.
As for, Manchester City, they gain another option in the midfield as Pep Guardiola’s side look to cope without their star playmaker Kevin De Bruyne for a decent portion of the season. With a deal verbally agreed, a medical booked and a full announcement of Nunes’ arrival should follow shortly.