Manchester City signed Wolves midfielder Matheus Nunes in a £53 million ($63 million) deal after selling Cole Palmer to Chelsea in the hectic final hours of the Premier League transfer window. After another lavish summer of spending by English top-flight clubs, Friday’s 2200 GMT deadline was expected to bring a last flurry of signings as teams fine-tune their squads. Treble winners City led the way with a swoop for Portugal international Nunes to replace rising star Palmer after his switch to Stamford Bridge for an initial £40 million.
Nunes, who played in last year’s World Cup, made 41 appearances for Wolves after signing from Sporting Lisbon last year.
The 25-year-old agreed a five-year contract with City and admitted he can’t wait to work with boss Pep Guardiola.
“I’m so happy to be joining Manchester City, the champions of Europe and a club I’ve admired for a long time,” he said.
“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.”
Moving in the opposite direction was City midfielder Tommy Doyle, who joined Wolves on a season-long loan.
Palmer agreed a seven-year contract with Chelsea, who have a club option of a further 12 month extension and could pay City an extra £2.5 million in add-on clauses.
City were keen to keep Palmer, but the size of Chelsea’s offer eventually persuaded them to cash in on a player who was keen for more regular first-team opportunities after helping England win the Under-21 European Championship this year.
“I’m excited to get started and it feels great to sign,” Palmer said.
“I’ve joined Chelsea because the project here sounds good and because of the platform I will have to try to showcase my talents. It is a young and hungry squad and, hopefully, we can do something special here.”
Palmer’s move to the Bridge takes Chelsea’s spending in the 16 months since Todd Boehly’s Clearlake Capital consortium bought the club to over £1 billion.
He is the 12th player signed by Chelsea since the end of last season.
– Reds set for Gravenberch deal –
Manchester United signed Turkey goalkeeper Altay Bayindir from Fenerbahce in a deal worth a reported £4.3 million.
Bayindir agreed a four-year contract with United, who have the option of a further 12 month extension.
The 25-year-old will serve as cover for United’s first choice keeper Andre Onana following Dean Henderson‘s move to Crystal Palace this week.
When Bayindir makes his United debut, he will become the first Turk to play for the Old Trafford outfit.
“It is a huge honour to join Manchester United and become the first Turkish player to represent this incredible club,” Bayindir said.
United are also set to make a loan move for Tottenham left-back Sergio Reguilon.
Liverpool are expected to sign Bayern Munich midfielder Ryan Gravenberch for £35 million later on deadline day.
The 21-year-old flew to Merseyside for his medical on Thursday and his arrival will complete Jurgen Klopp’s overhaul of Liverpool’s midfield.
Brighton’s Alexis Mac Allister and Leipzig’s Dominik Szoboszlai were signed earlier in the window to replace Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, who both accepted lucrative offers from big-spending Saudi Arabian clubs.
“We pretty much had to reinvent the team. The midfield is all ready and will be completely new,” Klopp said.
“We are less experienced but that is normal. We are full of desire and I love this team.”
Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel added: “He’s wanted to go for a while. An offer came in and we discussed it. It’s not done yet, but the outcome is clear.”
The Saudi spending has seen a host of Premier League players move to the Gulf State, but Klopp does not expect Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah to join the exodus.
The Egypt star had been linked with a £130 million switch to Al Ittihad.
“The position remains the same. Absolutely no doubt about that. That’s how it is. Nothing else to say,” Klopp said of Liverpool’s desire to keep Salah.
Elsewhere, Nottingham Forest signed Arsenal defender Nuno Tavares on a season-long loan.
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