Manchester City have reportedly made the breakthrough in negotiations with Wolverhampton Wanderers for midfielder Matheus Nunes.
Once it became apparent that the Premier League champions would not be signing Lucas Paqueta from West Ham United, attention quickly switched to trying to bring in an alternative.
Last week, it emerged that Nunes was Pep Guardiola's preferred choice, the City boss having previously described the Portugal international as 'one of the best players in the world'.
City saw a bid in the region of £47m rejected by Wolves and subsequent offers were also turned down by the West Midlands outfit as they held firm over receiving at least £60m.
A report on Wednesday indicated that City were prepared to walk away from discussions if they were unable to pay £55m for the 25-year-old, who has refused to train with Wolves.
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However, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, a verbal agreement has been reached between the two clubs and Nunes is on his way to Manchester.
While a final transfer fee has not been revealed, the manner of the payment is seemingly likely to be finalised in due course, with City also including a player in their proposal.
England Under-21 international Tommy Doyle is allegedly moving in the opposite direction for a £5m fee and City possessing 50% of any future sale.
Doyle has made seven appearances for the City first team, but his stock rose considerably as he helped Sheffield United win promotion to the Premier League last season.
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A total of four goals and seven assists came from his 38 appearances in all competitions, with the most notable of his strikes proving to be the winning effort as Sheffield United beat Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Although Doyle is regarded as a different style of midfielder to Nunes, he will likely be deemed as his replacement with Wolves also in line to sign a new centre-back and winger.
Girona defender Santiago Bueno is expected to finalise a transfer to Wolves on Thursday, while young Paraguayan winger Enso Gonzalez is closing in on a move from Club Libertad.
From City's perspective, Nunes is being signed to boost their midfield options on the back of Ilkay Gundogan leaving for Barcelona and Kevin de Bruyne being sidelined until the end of the year.
Darren Plant
