Inside Matheus Nunes transfer - Gifts and Guardiola demand that sealed £53m move
Pep Guardiola demanded Manchester City sign Matheus Nunes from his Barcelona settee.
The City boss, recovering from back surgery, made the Wolves midfielder his main target to bolster his side's midfield after deciding they were still a man light in the wake of a serious injury to Kevin de Bruyne.
And when the Wolves hierarchy declared they wanted £60million for the Portugal international - who flattered to deceive at Molineux but whom Guardiola previously labelled "one of the best in the world" after a Champions League encounter with former club Sporting Lisbon - it was the Spaniard who called on City chiefs to not let this deal get away, despite a price tag they didn't want to meet.
That led to long, drawn-out negotiations between both parties over the past few days, after earlier amicable talks had been complicated by Nunes' representatives.
They used third parties on social media to repeatedly claim a deal was close when it wasn't and also persuaded the player to refuse to train as he sought to move to the Etihad.
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Those manoeuvres did little to help the player's case and merely stiffened Wolves resolve to get the best deal possible. At one point the entire deal was on the verge of collapse - before Guardiola emphatically stepped in.
With his desire made clear, City's top brass were duly forced to get creative to put together a deal that would work for all parties. Late talks on Thursday saw a final fee agreed at £53million; £6m more than City's opening offer and £7m below Wolves' price tag.
But dig a little deeper and the Champions League winners, while able to present themselves publicly as getting a deal done at a price they like, have had to give a fair bit to satisfy their manager and leaving Wolves negotiators to feel like it was a job well done.
Nunes struggled in his sole season at Molineux but Guardiola has remained a big fan (Michael Zemanek/REX/Shutterstock)While there are no add ons other than 10 percent of any profit City make with a future sale, Wolves will be getting the entire £53m in one lump sum, rather than over the course of Nunes' five-year contract, as is more typically the case.
The young midfielder, Tommy Doyle, joins Wolves on a season-long loan deal with the option to turn it permanent next summer for £4.3m - plus 50 percent of any profit on a future transfer going to City. That is seen as a bargain by Wanderers, who value the 21-year-old at closer to £15million.
Doyle has been watched by Wolves sporting director Matt Hobbs for over 18 months, including last season's impressive spell at Sheffield United during their promotion season. The Blades had been keen to have him back. Something will have had to go spectacularly wrong in the next nine months for Wolves not to activate their option.
"I think we’re a perfect place for Tommy to show what he’s capable of," said Hobbs.
Also, having spent much of the last month searching for a new centre-back, Wolves finally settled on Santiago Bueno. The Uruguayan international, 24, only signed a new contract at former club Girona in January, but a whirlwind move was secured Thursday for just £8million.
The Spanish club had been fielding interest from a number of other Premier League sides, including Nottingham Forest, and had been pointing at fees approaching £15million to get a deal done. Wolves got him at almost half price.
Intriguingly, Girona are majority owned by the City Football Group, the owners of Manchester City. Pere Guardiola, brother of Pep, is also a part owner through the Girona Football Group.
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"The opportunity to work under Pep Guardiola, one of the greatest managers ever, and alongside some of the best players in the world was something I simply couldn't turn down," declared Nunes after being unveiled in blue.
In the end, after Pep had played his part, Wolves couldn't turn it down either.
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