West Ham may find improved Manchester City bid for Lucas Paqueta too good to turn down, says Athletic journalist
West Ham may find an improved offer from Manchester City for Lucas Paqueta “too good to turn down”, according to the Athletic journalist Roshane Thomas.
David Moyes confirmed on Friday (11 August) that a verbal offer for the Brazilian midfielder had been received.
Thomas wrote in the Athletic (13 August) that the Hammers would be reticent to lose Paqueta having already lost one star man in the form of captain Declan Rice to Arsenal this window.
However, Thomas added that if a “significant return” on the £52million they paid Lyon for his services were to be received, it may be enough to twist the Hammers’ arm.
Claret and Hugh wrote on Sunday that West Ham have informed champions City they want at least £95.2million for Paqueta.
Feels like it’s heading one way
It would be a huge disappointment for West Ham to lose Paqueta when they have already had such difficulty replacing Rice.
Thus far, Edson Alvarez has arrived from Ajax and James Ward-Prowse looks like he might be confirmed as a Hammer as early as Monday.
But if Paqueta were to be sold as well, it would leave West Ham needing to look for reinforcements for another one of their star players before the transfer window closes on September 1.
The problem is, usually when one of Europe’s elite clubs come chasing a player, that player typically – and somewhat understandably – wants to make the move. For Paqueta the lure of playing under Pep Guardiola is very difficult to turn down.
Which is why Thomas’ comments certainly ring true. West Ham have earned a big windfall for Rice and topped that up by selling Gianluca Scamacca. But the chance to make such a huge profit is always difficult to say no to. This is seemingly heading only one way.
In other West Ham news, reports linking Michail Antonio to Celtic have been labelled as “nonsense”.