Summary Matheus Nunes is on strike at Wolverhampton Wanderers to force a move to Manchester City, who are confident of completing the deal. Manchester City had a bid of £47 million turned down for Nunes and are expected to make an improved offer before the transfer deadline. Despite their pursuit of Nunes, Manchester City are also interested in Crystal Palace midfielder Eberechi Eze, but a significant offer would be needed to tempt Palace to sell.
Manchester City have a Premier League midfielder shortlisted at the Etihad Stadium despite being locked in the process of trying to acquire Wolverhampton Wanderers star Matheus Nunes, according to reports.
What's the latest news involving Manchester City?
According to Sky Sports, Nunes refused to train at Wolves on Sunday or Monday and has gone on strike to try and force through a move to Premier League champions Manchester City.
Manchester City have seen a bid of £47 million for Nunes turned down for the Portugal international last week, with Wolves said to value the former Sporting Clube de Portugal midfielder at in the region of £60 million. The Citizens are expected to return to the table with an improved offer before the transfer deadline.
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has also delivered an update surrounding the permutations of a new bid from Manchester City to try and land Nunes, stating on X:
"Understand Manchester City are increasingly confident to get Matheus Nunes deal done very soon after new bid revealed yesterday, in excess of €60m. Negotiations entering final stages after the agreement reached with Matheus on personal terms days ago."
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, transfer insider Dean Jones has insisted that despite noise surrounding the future of Nunes, his mooted transfer to join Manchester City is "likely to happen this week" due to his head being turned by the prospect of being able to pitch up at the Etihad Stadium.
The Citizens have favoured bringing in quality over quantity this window and have made just three signings so far in the form of Jeremy Doku, Mateo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol, as per Transfermarkt.
Young duo James McAtee and Tommy Doyle could be set to depart Manchester City on loan before the end of the window after attracting interest from Sheffield United and Scottish Premiership holders Celtic, respectively.
Who else could Manchester City bring in?
According to Pete O'Rourke's exclusive column for Football Insider, Manchester City are still keen on Crystal Palace midfielder Eberechi Eze and have shortlisted the England international despite their ongoing pursuit to try and tempt Nunes to the North West.
Nevertheless, the report states that Crystal Palace will not sell £30k-a-week earner Eze unless a significant offer for his services arises due to his stellar performances for the south London-based outfit.
Eze has been a major player for Crystal Palace since joining the club and has gained admirers due to his creativity, vision and goalscoring capabilities, which have seen him notch 15 strikes and 11 assists in 96 appearances for his current employers in total, as per Transfermarkt.
Making his presence known in 2023/24, Eze hasn't been shy to try and take on opportunities to score and has averaged 5.3 shots per fixture in Crystal Palace's opening three matches in the English top-flight this term, as shown on WhoScored.
Dubbed "influential" by Jamie Redknapp back in 2021, Eze could be an ideal solution to help with the workload Kevin De Bruyne is unable to take up at the moment due to being ruled out with a hamstring problem.
