- Sale of Cole Palmer raised further funds
- City went in for Palace forward
- Eagles stuck to their £80m asking price
WHAT HAPPENED? Deadline day was busy at the Etihad with Matheus Nunes coming in from Wolves and Cole Palmer heading down to Chelsea for a hefty fee. Guardiola and City looked to redirect the £40 million ($50.3m) they received for Palmer, and a little more, to Palace in an attempt to sign Eze late in the day. However, according to the Daily Mail, their eventual £60m ($75.5m) bid fell short of the Eagles' asking price, meaning Eze stayed at Selhurst Park.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: The acquisition of Eze would have been City's fifth signing of the summer window after the arrivals of Nunes, Josko Gvardiol, Jeremy Doku and Mateo Kovacic as Guardiola strengthened his squad in order to go again this season after winning an iconic treble last time out. For Palace, they couldn't really afford to lose Eze so late in the window, especially after their long-term talisman Wilfried Zaha left the club for Galatasaray.
IN THREE PHOTOS:
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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER CITY? While they'll be disappointed at not being able to land another one of their targets, the champions have enjoyed a perfect start to the Premier League season. They take on West Ham on September 16 after the international break.