West Ham transfer link surely points to behind-the-scenes work on Lucas Paqueta replacement
Lucas Paqueta still faces an uncertain future at West Ham beyond the end of this season.
It was reported by GiveMeSport (April 10) that a move to finally take the Brazil international, 26, to Manchester City is a “deal we should expect” when the window re-opens.
Paqueta, of course, was linked heavily with a switch to the Etihad Stadium in the last summer transfer window but reports emerged about a betting probe into the attacking midfielder to kibosh the deal.
The rumours simply won’t go away and the Hammers would, naturally, prefer not to have to cash in on another talent having agreed to let Declan Rice join Arsenal in a £100million deal last summer.
Are West Ham looking at alternatives for Lucas Paqueta?
But a report from HITC on 10 April suggests that work is surely already going on behind the scenes for prepare for such an eventuality.
The online news outlet named the Hammers among a plethora of clubs showing interest in Shakhtar Donetsk ace Georgiy Sudakov, who played in this season’s Champions League.
They wrote that Sudakov signed a new contract recently until 2028 and there is a release clause in excess of £100million – although of course that clause is likely just to give them more bargaining chips.
Liverpool, Aston Villa, Manchester City, Barcelona, PSG and Bayern Munich are all named as clubs monitoring the 21-year-old attacking midfielder as well.
So, the competition for Sudakov’s signature means that there is no guarantee West Ham will pursue the interest.
But it is a sign that West Ham are probably looking at viable alternatives should they lose Paqueta to City in the next few months.
In other West Ham news, the Hammers are relying big time on this out-of-sorts ace after recent news.
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