Manchester City are looking to bolster their squad ahead of the season kicking off on Friday
(Image credit: Tom Flathers/Manchester City FC via Getty Images)
Manchester City are chasing a midfielder from a Premier League rival this transfer window, but they will have to stump up more cash if they are to sign him after having already had a bid rejected.
Manchester City have only signed Matteo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol this window, with Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez both leaving the club. While Pep Guardiola is keen to replace Mahrez with another winger, he is also looking at improving his squad depth in midfield.
With Bernardo Silva wanting to leave for Barcelona, the Portuguese could be granted his wish should City land a target they've already bid a considerable fee for.
According to Brazilian outlet Ge Globo, Manchester City have offered West Ham £70m for their Brazilian midfielder Lucas Paqueta. Talksportare also reporting the treble winners are interested in the 25-year-old, though the Brazilian report suggests the bid will be rejected as the Hammers are reluctant to sell.
Having already lost Declan Rice to Arsenal this summer, and only managing to bring in Edson Alvarez so far, West Ham are desperate to keep hold of Paqueta. They could make substantial profit on him, though, after signing him just last summer for around £50m.
He does still have four years remaining on his contract with West Ham, though, with Transfermarkt valuing him at around £40m.
Paqueta has impressed Manchester City's recruitment team (Image credit: Getty Images)
Paqueta's performances in the Europa Conference League earned him a spot in the competition's Team of the Season, as West Ham went onto beat Fiorentina in the final in Prague. An integral player during their campaign, he made the assist for Jarrod Bowen's last-gasp winner in the final.
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A technical player, Paqueta took a bit of time settling in east London, but once he did, he consistently impressed for West Ham. Scoring three goals and laying on a further four assists in the Premier League, Paqueta would slot straight into the Manchester City midfield alongside the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri and Kovacic.
Manchester City are looking to add to their signings of Gvardiol and Kovacic (Image credit: Getty Images)
Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.
