'It wasn't necessary' - Wolves chief sends blunt message to Matheus Nunes after £53m Man City transfer

Wolverhampton Wanderers sporting director Matt Hobbs insists Matheus Nunes' refusal to train 'wasn't necessary' after they accepted a £53million offer from Manchester City.

Nunes was confirmed as a City player on Friday morning after crunch talks between the two clubs earlier this week. The Blues were initially due to pay less but renegotiated in order to secure a more favourable payment plan.

Pep Guardiola's side had seen an initial offer of around £47m rejected by Wolves last week, but the selling club's stance was softened when Nunes refused to turn up for training in a bid to force a move. He was not involved in their 5-0 Carabao Cup win against Blackpool on Tuesday evening.

“I was disappointed with how it ended," Hobbs told Wolves' website. "It wasn’t necessary the stance Matheus took, but we ended with a good resolution for everyone.

ALSO READ: Matheus Nunes tells City how he will fit into Pep Guardiola's midfield

"Matheus is a hugely talented player but would admit that last season he didn’t hit the heights he expected, but it was a tough season for the team, so maybe he wasn’t allowed to do that.

“We’ve lost a player with a lot of potential, a lot of ability, but the situation has led to us bringing a greater number of players in to improve the squad and provide competition in the group. The players here want competition in training, so while we’ve lost a good player, it’s made us a more competitive and better squad overall.”

City have sent Tommy Doyle the other way in a separate loan deal, with Wolves able to make the 21-year-old's move permanent in the future. A busy deadline day also saw Taylor Harwood-Bellis and James McAtee leave on loan to Southampton and Sheffield United respectively.

Cole Palmer left