Wolves make Doyle move permanent as midfielder leaves Man City

Wolves have taken up their option to sign Tommy Doyle from Manchester City on a permanent deal.

The 22-year-old midfielder has made 30 appearances in all competitions for Wolves after joining the club on loan this season.

Wolves have now exercised their option to make the move permanent, which will take effect on July 1, for a reported fee of just under £5 million.

Doyle has signed a four-year contract with Wolves, with an option for two further years, tying him to the Molineux club until at least 2028.

He previously spent loan spells with Hamburg and Cardiff City, before helping Sheffield United win promotion from the Championship last season.

The Man City academy product also made seven appearances for Pep Guardiola’s side.

“We’ve never seen Tommy as a player on loan, and he hasn’t acted like one,” said Wolves sporting director Matt Hobbs after the deal was confirmed on Friday.

“He’s gradually earned more minutes and become more important, which I think is an ideal first year. What he offers to our midfield is something different to the others, so there was a huge amount of inevitability to this.

“He buys into who we are as a club and what we’re trying to create culturally within the group. He’s a great player to have for what we’re trying to achieve off the pitch and he gives us so much on the pitch, so he’s the exact type of player I think Wolves should be signing.”

Hobbs is confident that Doyle has a bright future in the game, adding: “If you look at the type of players we like to sign as a football club, they generally haven’t reached their ceiling yet and have loads more to come.

“Tommy is a fraction of the player he will become, with the more he gets used to the league and the greater his understanding gets.

“I’m really excited for now but also his future at Wolves.”

Here to stay. pic.twitter.com/YNSQvXmLj4

— Wolves (@Wolves) May 3, 2024

Man City play Wolves in the Premier League on Saturday, but Doyle is ineligible to take part.

As well as expressing his excitement at joining Wolves, he reflected on his City exit, saying: “I’ve had many, many years as a City player, coming through the academy and eventually playing for the first-team, and I take great pride in what I’ve done for that club..

“It’s nice to close that chapter and open up the new one with Wolves and try to progress as much as I can and keep enjoying it.

“I wanted to have somewhere where I’m stable, essentially somewhere I enjoy, and I enjoy it here. It’ll be good to do it all again next season.

“It’s amazing. I’m really happy. I found out not too long ago what’s going to happen and it’s obviously very exciting for me, having enjoyed this season so far, and I’m looking forward to trying to better what we’ve done next season.

“I’ve known for a little while that there were talks, and the other day it was more official. I’ve enjoyed it here, everyone’s been really great with me, the manager, the staff and especially the lads. It’ll be good to battle in the league again with them next season.”

Wolves are 11th in the Premier League with three games to play in Gary O’Neil’s first season in charge.

“You can see the way we’ve played this season, some of our football’s been really good,” added Doyle, who has played for England up to Under-21 level.

“We’ve been very unlucky with injuries, and it’s died out a bit the last couple of games which has been frustrating, but that’s something we’ll learn from.

“The club said they were happy with what I’ve done this season and, for me, I feel there’s a lot more I can give. We’re going in the right direction as a club, we’re progressing, so it’s exciting to be part of that journey.”