Man City near second costliest signing ever as Fabrizio Romano drops ‘soon’ tease over possible West Ham swap

Manchester City are readying a renewed offer for Lucas Paqueta with Fabrizio Romano providing an update of Pep Guardiola’s pursuit and revealing when an increased bid for the West Ham star will likely be lodged.

TEAMtalk exclusively revealed last week why the Brazilian star is desperate to quit the Hammers amid disagreements over their playing style and the fact he does not enjoy playing for West Ham.

As a result, the 25-year-old has been strongly linked with a move to Manchester City as Guardiola looks to further strengthen his squad.

The European champions are looking to add a new dimension to their midfield having lost Ilkay Gundogan on a free to Barcelona. Furthermore, the injury suffered by Kevin de Bruyne further increases Guardiola’s need for midfield creativity. At 32, the Belgian superstar cannot go on forever at the very top, regardless.

Paqueta, at a whopping £51m, was the Hammers’ record signing last summer, so signing him will not come cheap for City.

Helping to inspire their Europa Conference League win, his time in east London, however, looks set to end after just one year.

City’s opening offer worth around £70m has already been swatted away by the Hammers.

And amid claims of a £95m valuation, it seems City are ready to go even higher to land the 42-times capped Brazil international.

Quite how high City are ready to go remains to be seen. However, having reportedly already agreeing on personal terms for the star, it seems their interest is genuine. And, as displayed in the past, when Guardiola really wants a player, they can go to extraordinary lengths to deliver those targets.

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Fabrizio Romano provides update on Man City’s Lucas Paqueta hunt

Indeed, widespread reports claim City are now ready to meet West Ham’s valuation for the player in order to get a deal done.

And if they do go as high as £95m, his signing will prove the second costliest in their history – just £5m short of the fee paid to Aston Villa for Jack Grealish.

To try and bring their outlay down, however, City could reportedly try and use Cole Palmer as a transfer makeweight. The England U21 star is desperate for more first-team opportunities and could be allowed to depart if the right offer comes along.

City would prefer a loan, but are reportedly willing to sacrifice Palmer to West Ham if that means securing a deal for Paqueta.

Providing an update on the possible deal, Fabrizio Romano, speaking to Caught Offside, expects a new bid to be lodged by City in the coming days.

However, as the transfer expert explains, the future of Palmer is not necessarily intertwined with that of Paqueta.

“I’d keep an eye on Lucas Paqueta in the coming days,” Romano said. “City have a new bid almost ready, it will be submitted soon and timing will be key: City want to accelerate this week, they will insist and push.”

Addressing Palmer, the Italian journalist added: “Cole Palmer could be in a separate deal, he’s not currently in same negotiation.”

City have already spent around £110m so far on Mateo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol. But a move for Paqueta will likely take their summer business soaring through the £200m barrier.

Paqueta for his part is reportedly seeking a six-year deal at the Etihad. If agreement is reached, that will see the midfield playmaker tied down to summer 2029.

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