Manchester City move for West Ham ace Lucas Paqueta completely off according to Sky Sports
Manchester City will definitely not be signing Lucas Paqueta from West Ham this summer, according to Sky Sports.
The reliable news source revealed last week that an agreement had been reached in principle between the two clubs in the region of £80million.
However, Paqueta has since been made the subject of an FA investigation into alleged betting breaches, and a move is now off the cards for good.
An update on the saga on Sky Sports’ transfer blog on Tuesday [22 August, 15:05] read: “Manchester City’s move to sign Lucas Paqueta from West Ham United is now totally off.
“There was a very small chance on Friday morning that the transfer could still go ahead but there is now no prospect of that happening.”
Paqueta, who has four years to run on his London Stadium contract, has denied any wrongdoing with regards to the betting breach allegations.
Great news
It looked certain last week that West Ham would be losing a second key player this summer – following the exit of Declan Rice to Arsenal – but that is no longer the case.
Assuming no other club makes a surprise offer out of the blue, West Ham supporters can enjoy the Brazil international up close for at least another four months or so.
The betting allegations, which will bring with it a possible ban if found guilty – eight months in the case of Brentford’s Ivan Toney – appear to have put City off making a move.
In between the two developments, West Ham have stepped up their pursuit of other attackers – Ajax’s Mohammed Kudus and Sevilla’s Youssef En-Nesyri among them.
As ExWHUEmployee revealed last week, the Irons always intended to strengthen in that area regardless of Paqueta’s situation, so there is no reason why they will not continue to pursue one of those targets.
A bleak transfer window at one point for West Ham is now looking a lot different. Throw some positive displays on the pitch into the mix, and there is every reason for supporters to be excited for the season ahead.
In other West Ham news, the club have reportedly informed Michail Antonio he will not be allowed to leave this summer.