Manchester City are reportedly set to submit a second bid to West Ham United for Lucas Paqueta after an initial bid of £70 million was rejected.
The Brazilian midfielder has been named as Pep Guardiola’s top transfer target as he looks to bolster his midfield.
Paqueta was acquired by West Ham last summer for £51 million from Lyon. Since then, he has made 41 appearances in all competitions, contributing seven assists and five goals.
But it makes sense that David Moyes would be reluctant to lose another important midfielder. Declan Rice, a star player for the Hammers, was previously moved to Arsenal for £105 million this summer.
In a recent interview, Moyes said that “an offer” for Paqueta had been received from Man City. But that the amount was “nowhere close” to what West Ham had set as the asking price.
According to Team Talk, Paqueta and the Cityzens have already struck “an agreement in principle” about a six-year contract. Personal terms won’t be a problem, so Man City will only need to agree on a transfer fee.
West Ham’s asking price is reportedly around £95 million. Therefore Man City will need to back up their claims with action in order to seal a deal.
According to earlier rumors, West Ham will only consider an offer of £95 million. However, City might put one of their players in the trade to lower that fee.
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Team Talk also claimed that Guardiola is thinking about trading Cole Palmer for the player.
The 21-year-old offensive midfielder for Man City has already made 40 appearances and has a ton of potential. Additionally, he came off the bench when the Cityzens defeated Burnley 3-0 on Friday.
