Manchester City remain interested in signing West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta and are ‘ready’ to spend £86m to bring him in.
Pep Guardiola is a huge admirer of the Brazil international and he tried to sign him last summer, only for the move to be derailed by off-field issues.
Man City agreed on a £80m fee with West Ham for Paqueta before being informed that he was the subject of an FA investigation into alleged betting breaches.
They ultimately ended up signing Matheus Nunes from Wolves for £53m as an alternative.
The investigations into Paqueta are still going on behind the scenes but according to The Mail, the Cityzen’s are willing to wait for the West Ham star and are still primed to bring him in this summer.
It’s claimed that the midfielder remains keen to make the switch to the Etihad. He will be a big loss for West Ham, but David Moyes’ side may be powerless to stop him leaving.
Man City ‘ready’ to pay Lucas Paqueta’s release clause
The Mail note that Paqueta has an £86m release clause in his contract with West Ham and that will become active in the summer.
Considering Man City were willing to pay £80m to bring in the Brazilian a few months ago, it seems very likely that they’ll be willing to match that clause.
Indeed, the report states that Guardiola’s side are ‘ready’ to match Paqueta’s release clause in the coming months.
Paqueta joined the Hammers for £51m in 2022 and has established himself as one of the best midfielders in the Premier League.
He’s made 72 appearances to date for West Ham, scoring 11 goals and making 13 assists in the process.
Paqueta certainly has the potential to be a top signing for Man City and it’s clear to see that Guardiola would be delighted to have him in his squad.
The 26-year-old would provide competition for the likes of Nunes, Kevin de Bruyne and Mateo Kovacic among others, but certainly has the quality to slot straight into the starting XI.
Moyes will hope that Paqueta is at his best on Thursday evening when he’s set to face Freiburg in the Europa League round of 16 second leg, with West Ham 1-0 down on aggregate.
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