Porto's Nico Gonzalez. Alamy Stock Photo

Man City complete late signing of Porto defender to take January spending to €210 million

Meanwhile, Tottenham finally get a loan deal for Bayern Munich’s Mathys Tel over the line.

MANCHESTER CITY TOOK their January spending close to £175 million (€210 million) after completing the late signing of Porto midfielder Nico Gonzalez in a frantic conclusion to transfer deadline day that also saw Tottenham finally get a loan deal for Bayern Munich’s Mathys Tel over the line.

City had recruited Frankfurt forward Omar Marmoush, Palmeiras defender Vitor Reis and Lens centre-back Abdukodir Khusanov for a combined £122.5m (€147 million) and the deal for Gonzalez, who had been pulled out of the Portuguese club’s squad to face Rio Ave on Monday evening, was announced as the window closed at 11pm.

“We are really happy we have managed to get this done before the window closed,” said director of football Txiki Begiristain.

“He is ready to help us in the second half of the season as we compete in the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Club World Cup.”

Tottenham eventually signed Tel as he performed a U-turn three days after rejecting a move to north London.

The 19-year-old, who was also attracting interest from Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United, turned down the opportunity to join on Friday after a £50.2million deal was agreed with the Bundesliga leaders.

However, he had a change of heart over the weekend, with reports in Germany claiming the France international wants to consider his longer-term future and so has agreed a temporary move, although the club have negotiated an option to buy.

If international clearance and a work permit arrive in time Tel could be available for Thursday’s Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Liverpool at Anfield, in which they hold a 1-0 lead.

Everton left it until the early hours of Tuesday morning to announce the signing of Argentinian midfielder Carlos Alcaraz on loan from Flamengo for the rest of the 2024/25 campaign, with an option to buy at the end of the season.

The 22-year-old is David Moyes’ first signing since returning as manager last month.

The Seagulls have signed 19-year-old Stefanos Tzimas from Bundesliga 2 side FC Nuremburg for a reported £20million and loaned him back for the remainder of the season.

Wolves left it late to announce the arrival of defender Nasser Djiga from Red Star Belgrade on a deal which runs until 2030 with the option of another 12 months.

Championship promotion contenders Burnley signed forward Marcus Edwards on loan from Sporting Lisbon and Ajax 20-year-old Jaydon Banel on a four-and-a-half-year deal, while letting defender John Egan to join Hull on an 18-month deal.

Fellow promotion-chasers Sheffield United signed defender Rob Holding on loan from Crystal Palace, who also allowed Jeffrey Schlupp to join Celtic on loan after completing the temporary signing of out-of-favour Chelsea left-back Ben Chilwell.

Middlesbrough signed Aston Villa winger Samuel Iling-Junior on loan, although they were unsuccessful with a move to bring in Liverpool midfielder Tyler Morton on a permanent deal as it is understood they could not get close to the Reds’ valuation for the 22-year-old.

Close
14 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy here before taking part.
Leave a Comment
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.

    Leave a commentcancel