Newcastle United fans were dreaming of signing Lucas Paqueta this time last year. Fast forward 12 months and the midfielder is being heavily linked with a move to Manchester City.
West Ham United’s summer could be going from bad to worse. They have already lost Declan Rice, while David Moyes has been frustrated with the club missing out on top targets such as Harvey Barnes.
Now they could soon lose another major player, with former Newcastle target Paqueta the subject of interest from Premier League champions Man City.
Man City make Lucas Paqueta bid
According to Globo in Brazil, Man City have made a £70million bid to sign Paqueta from West Ham.
The report states that Moyes’ side are yet to respond to the offer, but will likely reject it. Globo add that the Hammers will command a higher fee.
This comes just one year after the 25-year-old joined West Ham. He arrived from Lyon, costing a club record fee of £51million.
That move was a blow for Newcastle fans at the time, who were really eager to see Paqueta move to St James’ Park and play alongside his friend Bruno Guimaraes.
Newcastle wanted him last year
The attacking midfielder was heavily linked with joining Eddie Howe’s side last summer. There was talk that Newcastle were going to break their transfer record to sign him, while it was suggested that he was open to a move to Tyneside.
A deal would have delighted Bruno, who is close friends with Paqueta following their time together at Lyon. The Newcastle midfielder even described him as his dream signing for the Magpies.
That dream did not become a reality, however, with Howe later admitting that a deal to sign him was never close.
It was a shame to see us miss out on Paqueta, and the fact Man City are trying to sign him one year later just proves how talented a player he is. He will always go down as one that got away.
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