Newcastle United were keen on having 26-year-old West Ham United midfielder Lucas Paqueta in their ranks before signing Sandro Tonali.
According to Fabrizio Romano via Caught Offside, Newcastle United wanted to sign Lucas Paqueta in the summer transfer window. The Magpies were keen on having the 26-year-old West Ham mainstay in their ranks, but they ended up signing Sandro Tonali instead.
Newcastle United had a sensational 2022/23 season. They managed to finish inside the top four of the Premier League and earned their spot in the Champions League. The club decided to go big in the summer and strengthen their squad to help Eddie Howe compete in the league as well as Europe.
Their primary focus was on singing a new world-class midfielder. They had already added a lot of quality to their midfield over the past few windows, but they wanted to take the next step by adding another star to their squad.
The Magpies wanted to sign Lucas Paqueta from West Ham United. The 26-year-old arrived in England last summer in a £51 million deal. In his very first season for the Hammers, he featured in 41 matches and contributed towards 12 goals.
On the back of his impressive performances, Newcastle wanted to add him to their ranks. They were interested in his services back in May but decided against making any bids. The Magpies were focused on AC Milan’s Sandro Tonali and ended up signing him in a big-money move.
The 23-year-old defensive midfielder has already featured in four Premier League games for the English club and has also found the back of the net once. He seems to be a great addition to Howe’s ranks as the team prepares for their Champions League return.
While talking about Lucas Paqueta, Romano said, “Another deal that nearly happened this summer was Lucas Paqueta, who was targeted by Manchester City. Of course clubs are now waiting to see the end of the investigation story.”
“Newcastle were also interested back in May, but then they never sent proposals as their focus was on Sandro Tonali. Manchester City always appreciated Paqueta but they invested money on Matheus Nunes, big money; so at the moment they’re not planning for that move in January.”
Meanwhile, Manchester City were also interested in Paqueta’s services. The treble winners were very close to acquiring his services. But the move collapsed because of an investigation into the 26-year-old Brazilian international for breaching betting regulations.
Also Read: Newcastle United Summer Transfer Window Verdict 2023
Pep Guardiola was keen on having the Hammers midfielder in his ranks. But, the investigations forced them to look elsewhere and they ended up investing a huge amount to sign Matheus Nunes. While City are still keeping an eye on the 26-year-old, they have already gone big in the summer as a result they are not planning to sign him in the winter transfer window according to Romano.
