Pep Guardiola has broken his silence on the future of a Man City star West Ham want but has received some bad news on Lucas Paqueta.
When West Ham decided to replace Julen Lopetegui with Graham Potter in January, one Manchester City star was heavily linked with a move to east London.
And claims that Pep Guardiola will reignite Manchester City’s collapsed move for Hammers playmaker Lucas Paqueta if he is cleared on spot-fixing in June have not gone away.
Now there is big news on both fronts.
There are big changes on the cards at West Ham and Manchester City this summer after the two clubs woefully underachieved against expectations.
West Ham and Man City linked with one another’s players
Potter has not been able to fix the problems at West Ham so far but while supporters are angry, many feel he cannot be judged until he has his own team in place next season.
One of the players Potter has allegedly identified as part of a youthful rebuild is 22-year-old Manchester City midfielder James McAtee.
West Ham actually held talks with Man City about McAtee as they weighed up a January bid.
It was reported at the time McAtee was unhappy at the Etihad Stadium due to a lack of game time and would seek a move, either in January or the summer.
Now the summer transfer window is less than six weeks away.
It also coincides with the resumption of Paqueta’s adjourned trial to fight claims he was deliberately booked to influence the betting market.
Paqueta was denied a “dream” move to Manchester City when news of the allegations against him emerged in August 2023.
The Brazilian will be giving evidence when the trial resumes, part of which focuses on the fact he asked not to play in a game against Bournemouth in which he was booked so as not to jeopardise his move to Manchester City.
David Moyes will appear to verify that claim, with the idea being he could not have been part of a betting plan if he had no intention of playing in the match in question.
Claret and Hugh recently claimed Manchester City still want to sign Paqueta this summer if he is absolved of any wrongdoing.
And whilst the Hammers may not get the £85 million that had allegedly been agreed back in 2023, the report states Potter can still expect to receive a ‘decent fee’ for him to fund his own signings.
Guardiola breaks silence on Man City star West Ham want
One of those could be from Man City themselves, in the shape of McAtee.
Now Guardiola has broken his silence on the future of the Man City star West Ham want but there’s bad news for him on Paqueta.
McAtee has started just one Premier League game for Manchester City this season.
That’s despite the club’s massive drop-off from previous seasons.
McAtee has still managed seven goals even though he has mostly been a substitute – making just 24 appearances altogether, across all comptitions.
When a January deal for McAtee started to look a non-starter due to Man City’s issues, Potter started considering Chelsea flop Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall instead.
So it is clear what kind of profile of midfielder the Hammers boss wants this summer.
Hammers get encouragement over McAtee
Now he’s been given encouragement McAtee might be available.
Because even though Guardiola says he would ideally want the intelligent ace to stay, he accepts McAtee may want to leave to get more game time elsewhere.
“For the age I would like him (McAtee) to stay,” Guardiola told Man Citty’s website.
“I understand, the players want more minutes I understand that.
“I would like him to stay, he’s an Academy player, he knows the patterns, he’s a lovely person, a lovely guy.
“Macca has this quality, the ability to create. He is there. Macca close to the box is quite similar to Phil (Foden). They are there, a sense. It’s difficult to train, to make that movement because the ball is coming. If he plays minutes he will score….
“He trains really good, plays in different positions. I like him but with the squad, it’s how we finish and we will see.”
Guardiola gets bad news on Man City’s Paqueta hopes
If Guardiola does plan on reviving that move for Paqueta then he may need to be ready to pounce as soon as the trial ends.
Because word from Brazil is that Paqueta has agreed terms to sign for his former club Flamengo.
Bolavip Brasil claim all that is left to do is for Flamengo to agree a fee with West Ham – expected to be around £20-25m.
But Man City would surely be confident of luring Paqueta to the Etihad given his is still only 27 and has the best years of his career ahead.
Whereas Flamengo and a return to his homeland will probably always be there as an option for the Hammers ace further down the line.
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
