Lyon are prepared to potentially sell Newcastle United target Lucas Paqueta this summer.
The Brazil international is the dream signing for a lot of Toon fans. He was linked in January, and speculation over a move has intensified since Bruno Guimaraes moved to St James’ Park.
The South American duo are best friends, and it would be incredibly exciting to see them both in a black and white shirt.
Newcastle have been linked with Paqueta this summer. It was even claimed that the club are willing to break their transfer record for him and pay Lyon £50million.
No move has been forthcoming since that rumour from the Times, with Newcastle looking elsewhere for summer reinforcements.
However, talk of Paqueta coming to Newcastle has returned – mainly because Arsenal have been linked with the 24-year-old. Toon fans don’t want to lose out to Mikel Arteta’s side, and Bruno Cheyrou has suggested a deal could happen.
What has been said about Lucas Paqueta’s future
Cheyrou is Lyon’s head of recruitment, and he was asked about possible outgoings from the Ligue 1 side.
“We need to reduce the squad size,” he said.
The Frenchman was then asked about Paqueta, to which he delivered the six-word response: “We are prepared for every eventuality.”
That’s very non-committal from Cheyrou. If he wasn’t for sale, he would have said so outright. His comments have opened the door for Paqueta to leave Lyon, but will Newcastle come knocking?
Newcastle move still feels unlikely
It would still be a real surprise to see Paqueta sign for Newcastle. Our priorities currently lie elsewhere, with Eddie Howe looking to sign a striker and a winger.
We’re already struggling to fill those positions with our remaining budget, so fitting Paqueta in too would surely be impossible.
But there’s no doubting that he is an obvious improvement on what we’ve already got. If he moved to St James’ Park, he would immediately become one of the best players at the club.
The attacking midfielder was nominated for the Ligue 1 Player of the Year award last season, while he seems nailed on to go to the World Cup with Brazil this winter.
It might all depend on what Newcastle can achieve on the transfer front in the coming weeks. If a striker or a winger continue to be unattainable, perhaps the club could look to put their money elsewhere.
Convincing Paqueta to join would hopefully be easy given Bruno’s influence, while Cheyrou’s words suggest that Lyon would be willing to do business given their need to sell.
Don’t bank on it, but you never know…
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