Exclusive: West Ham has set a price for Lucas Paqueta, who is wanted by Manchester City. They don’t want to lose him, but they also don’t want to make him angry by preventing his departure.
Lucas Paqueta, a star for West Ham, will cost Manchester City £85 million.
That amount is in line with a release clause in Paqueta’s contract with the Hammers, which is set to take effect in 2019. The Irons, who have already lost Decan Rice to Arsenal this summer, want to keep the Brazilian international, who they acquired from Lyon for £51 million a year ago.
However, they are worried that Paqueta will become even more uneasy if they don’t sell him to the European champions. He has made it clear that he wants to move to the Etihad, and the Hammers board is anxious to prevent a repeat of the Dimitri Payet saga, which began in early 2017.
The Frenchman, who had achieved immediate success, abruptly stopped working after signing a five-year, massive contract worth £125,000 per week to force a £25 million return to Marseille.
An unhappy best player in the squad would be the absolute last thing David Moyes’ team needs after a close season that was already challenging.
Paqueta, 25, took some time to adjust after becoming a record signing, but by the end of the previous season, he was starting to live up to expectations. In 36 games across all tournaments, he scored five goals.
Guardiola, the manager of City, is undoubtedly a big fan, and his search for a new playmaker has gotten more serious after captain Kevin De Bruyne suffered a recurrence of his problematic calf injury in Friday’s win at Burnley.
The Spaniard is aware that in order to convince the Londoners to accept their latest offer of £60 million, which was turned down last week, the Treble winners must significantly increase it.
The English midfielder for City, Kalvin Phillips, could move in the opposite direction as a potential solution. Hammers manager Moyes is eager to sign the ex-Leeds player, who is valued at £50 million, to strengthen his team’s offensive and defensive lines.
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