Tottenham among Prem clubs ‘offered’ Newcastle target, as Magpies consider £42m bid

Tottenham, along with a host of other Premier League teams, have reportedly been given the chance to sign top Newcastle target Lucas Paqueta.

The Lyon star is being backed to make a move to England this week, despite having three years left to run on his contract in France. Paqueta’s close friend and compatriot Bruno Guimaraes has already left Lyon earlier this year to join Newcastle in a £40m transfer.

According to French source Foot Mercato, Newcastle want to reunite the Brazilian pair. They are planning to launch a £38m-£42.2m bid for central midfielder Paqueta.

A move at the higher end of this scale would see Paqueta become Newcastle’s record signing, ahead of Guimaraes and Joelinton.

However, it doesn’t look like it will be straightforward for Eddie Howe to bring Paqueta to St James’ Park.

That’s because the 24-year-old has apparently been offered to plenty of other Prem sides, including Tottenham.

Antonio Conte wants one more attacking signing before the transfer window shuts. As such, Spurs are considering moves for Leeds star Dan James and Adama Traore of Wolves.

Another player they might look at is Paqueta. According to Sky Sports journalist Lyall Thomas, who has appeared on the Last Word on Spurs podcast, the north London side have been given the chance to capture Paqueta.

Lucas Paqueta ‘offered’ to Spurs and other Prem clubs

“He’s been offered to every Premier League club going Paqueta,” Thomas said (via The Boot Room).

However, the reporter then cast doubt over a Spurs move for the 33-time Brazil international.

“I think if Spurs were determined to sign Lucas Paqueta they would have done it by now,” Thomas added.

“He’s been available all window. And there’s been various intermediaries offering him around and trying to get him into the Premier League.

“I think that Tottenham will be looking at other, more quality options, that suit them a little bit more than Lucas Paqueta.”

It remains to be seen who will fill that final spot in Conte’s attack. Leeds insist James is not for sale, while Traore is also a target for Everton.

Spurs have been linked with Leicester City’s James Maddison for a few months now. The Englishman would be a good option as he is in good form and is proven in the Prem.

However, Leicester don’t sell their best players on the cheap. Just look at Wesley Fofana, who will cost Chelsea more than £70m to sign.

Leicester rate Maddison highly and have put his price tag around the £60m mark. This may put Spurs off, as they have already spent £60m on Richarlison this summer.

Arguably the best option for Spurs is Atalanta’s Ruslan Malinovskyi. Conte only wants someone to deputise for the likes of Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski. This means they don’t have to spend big on him.

Malinovskyi is in the final year of his contract, so Atalanta will be happy to sell at a reasonable price. And according to Fabrizio Romano, the attacker ‘dreams’ of joining Spurs.

Meanwhile, Spurs defender Japhet Tanganga is on the radar of a Prem club as they look to bolster their defence, as per The Athletic.