‘It wasn’t necessary,’ Wolves boss says of Matheus Nunes’ £53 million move to Manchester City.
Last week, the Portuguese midfielder refused to train in order to force a move, with Manchester City agreeing to a £53 million deal.
Matt Hobbs, Wolverhampton Wanderers’ sporting director, believes Matheus Nunes’ reluctance to train ‘wasn’t required’ after the club accepted a £53 million bid from Manchester City.
After crucial meetings between the two clubs earlier this week, Nunes was confirmed as a City player on Friday morning. The Blues were supposed to pay less at first but renegotiated in order to achieve a more favorable payment plan.
Wolves had rejected Pep Guardiola’s initial offer of roughly £47 million last week, but the selling club’s attitude softened when Nunes refused to show up for training in an attempt to force a departure. He did not play in their 5-0 Carabao Cup victory over Blackpool on Tuesday evening.
“I was disappointed with how it ended,” Hobbs told the Wolves’ official website. “The stance Matheus took wasn’t necessary, but we ended up with a good resolution for everyone.”Matheus is a tremendously skilled player who would confess that he didn’t reach the heights he expected last season, but it was a difficult season for the squad, so perhaps he wasn’t permitted to.
“We’ve lost a player with a lot of potential and ability, but the situation has forced us to bring in more players to improve the squad and provide competition in the group.” The guys here crave competition in training, so even if we lost a good player, it has made us a more competitive and better squad overall.”
In a secondary loan deal, City sent Tommy Doyle the other way, with Wolves able to make the 21-year-old’s move permanent in the future. Taylor Harwood-Bellis and James McAtee were also loaned out to Southampton and Sheffield United on deadline day.
Cole Palmer left City for good, joining Chelsea in a £42.5 million move.
