LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 26: Silhouette of fans standing in front of the West Ham badge during the EFL Cup fourth round match between West Ham and Chelsea at The London Stadium on October 26, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
Lucas Paqueta nears West Ham United exit as Manchester City close on ‘sensational’ double transfer
Manchester City are “closing in” on West Ham star Lucas Paqueta as part of a “sensational double swoop” involving Jeremy Doku, according to FootballTransfers.
The outlet reported on their website Tuesday (15 August) that “sources close to the negotiations” say the European champions are “confident of wrapping up the deals” having “verbally” agreed personal terms already.
While the Hammers rejected the £70million bid from the Etihad for Paqueta previously “that does not deter” Pep Guardiola’s side.
Fabrizio Romano reported earlier on Tuesday that a new official bid for the Brazilian midfielder, 25, is “100% guaranteed” and “expected very soon”.
The Hammers have accepted that an exit is now likely with Paqueta prepared to push the move through.
Declan Rice has already departed the midfield unit, with Flynn Downes set to complete a loan to Southampton, while Manuel Lanzini has also left along with Gianluca Scamacca this summer.
Ship saled?
West Ham potentially envisaged the Brazilian international moving on within two or three seasons if he performed well at the London Stadium when they shelled out big money to bring him in from Lyon a year ago.
He took a while to get going under David Moyes but became one of the key men down the line last term, so for him to go after just one campaign, and so late in the window, is certainly going to throw yet another spanner into the works.
But the writing appears to be on the wall for this one, and despite Paqueta putting in a decent performance at Bournemouth on Saturday (12 August) it seems like a matter of time before City come up with the required cash and the deal is done.
So a replacement for him will need to be signed in double-quick time along with one for Scamacca and, by the looks of things, an alternative for Harry Maguire.
Finally getting the Edson Alvarez and James Ward-Prowse deals over the line has provided some hope that the remaining transfer business can still get done in time.
But over the transfer window as a whole the evidence it not hugely encouraging so losing another important player, even for big money, is a long way from ideal at this stage.
