Manchester City are reportedly interested in signing West Ham United midfielder Lucas Paqueta and have offered £70 million to land the Brazilian international.
According to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, Manchester City have set their sights on West Ham United playmaker Lucas Paqueta. The Citizens have tabled a £70 million bid to secure his services, although the Irons are expected to snub the offer for the Brazilian midfielder and demand a higher fee.
So far, the summer transfer window has been productive, as is typical of Manchester United. Pep Guardiola has lost two key players, Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez, this summer. And although they have added Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea to bolster the midfield in Gundogan’s absence and Josko Gvardiol in a big-money transfer, they are still looking to recruit more versatile midfield and attacking options.
Formerly of AC Milan and Flamengo, Paqueta has only been at the London Stadium for one season, having joined from Ligue 1 club Lyon for a club record £53 million last summer. But he is already loved by the West Ham faithful.
Despite a slow start to his Premier League career, the 25-year-old grew into proceeding as the season went by, contributing four goals in his debut Premier League season and helping West Ham lift the UEFA Europa Conference League trophy, providing the assist for Jarrod Bowen’s winning goal. He was also part of Brazil’s squad at the World Cup in Qatar.
More on Lucas Paquetá. Man City have approached West Ham with verbal discussion over £70m package, not enough 🚨🔵🇧🇷 #MCFC
Deal not easy but City will try again.
Guardiola, always been fan of Paquetá. Player keen after he picked Roc Nation Brazil as new agents recently. pic.twitter.com/GxF436ftKJ
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 9, 2023
Another thing to note is that Manchester City’s interest in Paqueta is separate from Bernardo Silva’s imminent future. According to a recent report, in a surprising u-turn, the Portuguese playmaker is now open to discussing extending his contract at the Etihad. Meanwhile, Manchester City have already offered £70 million to sign the Brazilian international.
Over the last year, the 28-year-old has been widely linked with a move away from the Etihad Stadium. Barcelona and PSG have both shown an interest in landing his services this summer. Meanwhile, Manchester City also believe Kyle Walker is set to turn down interest from Bayern Munich to put pen to paper on a new deal at the Etihad.
Also Read: Manchester City 2023/24 Premier League Season Preview
From West Ham’s perspective, they face a battle to hold on to Paqueta, who is interested in joining the treble winners. The Hammers would be reluctant to lose the 25-year-old after the departure of Declan Rice to Arsenal already this summer, while they are struggling to bring players through the door in the transfer market.
