Sheffield United impact on Tommy Doyle’s Wolves transfer revealed after Man City deal agreed

Tommy Doyle’s experience at Sheffield United last season persuaded Wolves’ top brass to make him one of their transfer targets this summer. The former Blades loanee has moved to Molineux on a season-long loan deal from Manchester City, with an option to buy of £5m reportedly included in the deal.

Doyle was a big hit at Bramall Lane on loan last season, alongside City teammate James McAtee, with many Blades fans hoping that United’s promotion to the Premier League would give them an increased chance of landing the England U21 international on a permanent deal. A combination of his Etihad salary, and United’s insistence on inserting relegation release clauses in their contracts, meant that was always a long shot, and Doyle was today unveiled as a Wolves player.

City and Wolves have been negotiating a deal for Wolves midfielder Matheus Nunes, who effectively went on strike in a bid to force through the deal ahead of tonight’s 11pm deadline. Various reports suggest that Wolves’ Doyle loan deal has an option to make it permanent for a fee of just £5m, although City will be due 50 per cent of any future sale as part of a clause inserted into the arrangement.

Wolves sporting director Matt Hobbs said: “I watched a lot of Tommy at Sheffield United last year in my previous role in recruitment, and also coming through the system at Man City, and he’s a player we tracked all through last season with a view to this year.

“It’s one we’ve wanted to do since the start of pre-season, but timings didn’t work out. City’s interest in Matheus Nunes reignited the conversations, but then delayed them again through negotiations, but Tommy knows he’s a player we’ve liked for a while.”

Doyle had to bide his time at Bramall Lane before cementing his place in Paul Heckingbottom’s side for the promotion run-in, scoring a late screamer against Blackburn in the FA Cup to book the Blades’ place in the semi-finals of the FA Cup at Wembley - where they faced his parent club City, with both Doyle and McAtee subsequently ineligible to play.

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“With the youth football career he’s had, for club and country, he went to the Championship and forced his way into the team, and showed he was beyond that,” Hobbs added. “The next challenge is to prove he can do it every week in the Premier League and we’re here to help him, Gary [O’Neil] is here to develop him as a Premier League midfielder like he was, so I think we’re a perfect place for Tommy to show what he’s capable of.

“Last year he had to earn the right to get in the team – he wasn’t red-carpeted into the Sheffield United team, he had to earn his place on the training pitch, with his attitude around the place, and that’s what he’ll have to do here. We’re building some good competition in the middle of the pitch, with some good players, and he wants that challenge, he doesn’t want to be gift wrapped anything. He wants to fight and earn his place through his performances day in, day out.”