West Ham United fans will be wincing about Lucas Paqueta with a fresh claim emerging from Italy.
Lucas Paqueta has established himself as a key man for West Ham over the past 18 months, although he is currently under investigation by the FA and FIFA regarding irregular betting patterns.
In fact, that was what stopped the 26-year-old Hammers star from joining Manchester City in the summer.
Man City could well go back in for Paqueta at the end of the season though, according to club insiders Claret and Hugh.
So it was nice to hear that Pep Guardiola was eyeing a move for Inter Milan star Nicolo Barella instead (TEAMtalk).
However, there could be some bad news for the Hammers now…
West Ham handed a huge Lucas Paqueta blow
It seems like Man City will now be back in for Paqueta after their pursuit of Barella, 27, hit a dead end.
Gazzetta dello Sport (print edition February 15th, page 13), Barella has signed a new deal with Inter Milan – one that runs until the summer of 2029, after Man City had an enquiry for him knocked back by the Nerazzurri.
So it’s pretty clear that the Premier League champions won’t be signing the Italy international this summer, and that’s really bad news for our hopes of keeping hold of the Brazilian.
Listen, I would absolutely love West Ham to keep Paqueta at the London Stadium for many more years to come.
The thing is, if Manchester City come in and meet his £85 million release clause, then we’ll be powerless to prevent him from leaving.
There aren’t many clubs in world football who have their choice of whichever player they want, but Man City are certainly one of them.
And I reckon that the Manchester club having had an enquiry for Barella rejected is really bad news for West Ham United’s hopes of keeping Lucas Paqueta in the summer.
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