Manchester City claim makes Newcastle’s Lucas Paqueta pursuit even tougher

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Newcastle United fans are dreaming about signing Lyon’s Lucas Paqueta this summer.

The Brazilian midfielder was linked with the Magpies in January. We reportedly failed with a £34million bid for the 24-year-old.

We did sign his teammate, however, with Bruno Guimaraes swapping Lyon for Newcastle. He’s been a revelation at St James’ Park, quickly establishing himself as the best player at the club.

But fans want more Samba stars in the North East, and want to see Bruno’s pal follow him from France to Engand.

Newcastle have been linked, with the Chronicle claiming he could cost £58million. Any deal would please Bruno, who has spoke of his desire to be reunited with Paqueta at Newcastle.

It would be an incredible signing by the Magpies, but any move could be about to get a lot tougher.

Manchester City like Newcastle target Lucas Paqueta

According to journalist Fabrizio Romano, Manchester City are fans of the Brazil international.

“I’m told that Lucas Paqueta is a player they [City] really appreciate, with his skills,” Romano said on the Here We Go podcast.

“It will be a complicated and tough negotiation with Lyon. He is a star, it will be more than complicated – no talks, but they do like Paqueta.”

That complicates things for Newcastle. Then again, it was never going to be as simple as ‘your best mate plays for us, so why not join him?’.

If it’s a battle between Newcastle and Man City, it’s difficult to see how the Toon come out on top. Man City are hardly a difficult sell right now.

You get the chance to play for one of the best teams in the world alongside some of the best players in the world, working under one of the best managers in the world. You’ll be competing for top honours and you’ll be paid handsomely for the privilege.

In contrast, Newcastle have…bridges? Convincing Paqueta to pick Newcastle over City is surely nigh on impossible. The Bruno factor may help us, but it’s not the be all and end all.

Newcastle’s only hope is that Pep Guardiola decides to look elsewhere. Otherwise it feels like there’s no chance we’ll see Bruno and Paqueta playing in black and white together.