Manchester City have announced the signing of Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Matheus Nunes.
Last week, it became apparent that the Premier League champions had identified the Portugal international as an alternative to West Ham United's Lucas Paqueta.
Wolves allegedly insisted that they would not sell their former club-record signing for anything less than £60m, a substantial increase on the £38m that they paid Sporting Lisbon just over 12 months ago.
However, on the back of the 25-year-old going on strike to try to force a move, City increased their bid with Tommy Doyle also moving in the opposite direction.
Earlier on Friday morning, Wolves confirmed the addition of the England Under-21 international on a season-long loan with the option to buy in 2024.
Welcome, Matheus Nunes! 👋 pic.twitter.com/Ba4vExfLAz
— Manchester City (@ManCity) September 1, 2023
That effectively made the departure of Nunes a foregone conclusion barring official confirmation, which arrived 30 minutes after the deal involving Doyle.
While City have not revealed a transfer fee, it has been widely reported that Pep Guardiola's side have agreed to shell out £53m on their latest arrival.
Speaking to the club's official website, Nunes, who has previously been described by Guardiola as 'one of the best players in the world', said: "I'm so happy to be joining Manchester City, the Champions of Europe and a club I've admired for a long time.
"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 couldn't turn down.
© Reuters
"I've learned so much during my season at Wolves and I'm excited to continue improving in the Premier League, a division which brings the best out of me.
"I'm really excited to get going, meet the fans and hopefully be a part of plenty more success at City."
Nunes leaves Wolves having contributed just one goal and one assist from 41 appearances in all competitions, his solitary strike being a goal-of-the-season contender against Chelsea in April.
Having signed before the Friday midday deadline, Nunes is eligible to make his City debut against Fulham on Saturday afternoon.
Darren Plant
