Man City midfield target ‘accepts’ move to Etihad as Guardiola’s side swiftly bid ‘in excess of £42.7m’

Manchester City have made an opening offer for Wolves midfielder Matheus Nunes after ending their pursuit of Lucas Paqueta, according to reports.

West Ham playmaker Paqueta was on Pep Guardiola’s agenda earlier this summer and the Premier League champions even had a £88million bid rejected by the Hammers.

City dropped their interest in the Brazilian international last week before it was revealed the player is under investigation by the Football Association for allegedly breaching their betting rules.

With Kevin De Bruyne out for three to four months after aggravating a hamstring injury, Guardiola is very eager to get a new midfielder through the door, even with Phil Foden thriving in a central role.

The Spanish manager has now turned his attention to Nunes, with Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze also reportedly on his shortlist.

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano revealed on Wednesday evening that Nunes is above Eze in City’s wishlist with “internal discussions” taking place.

And less than an hour after that update, Romano said the Cityzens have made an opening offer for the Portuguese midfielder.

It is claimed the offer “is in excess of €50m (£42.7m) fee with add-ons” and personal terms are already agreed between City and Nunes, who “has already accepted” Guardiola’s side.

Nunes only joined Wolves last summer and the Molineux club are believed to be eager to keep hold of him, though they could cave due to their difficult financial situation.

The funds would give Gary O’Neil the opportunity to improve his squad and, most importantly, sign a striker who knows how to score goals.

Finding the back of the net has been Wolves’ Achilles heel for quite some time and if they do not bring in a new No. 9 before the end of the window, they will be tipped by many to be relegated this season.

On the other side of things, losing their best player with the transfer deadline just around the corner is less than ideal and would put any club in a difficult position.