West Ham want Lucas Paqueta stay as Man City make verbal offer

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West Ham want Lucas Paqueta stay as Man City make verbal offer

West Ham United do not intend to sell Lucas Paqueta despite Manchester City making a verbal offer of £70m for the Brazilian, sources have confirmed to 90min.

The 25-year-old established himself as a key player in David Moyes' side during the second half of last season, helping the club to a famous win over Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final.

But despite that success, and West Ham's subsequent qualification for the Europa League, Paqueta wasn't overly impressed with how the 2022/23 season went, with 90min exclusively revealing in June that the Brazilian has particular concerns about working under Moyes.

Paqueta has had to adapt his style of play to fit into Moyes' system, and although his performance levels significantly improved after the winter World Cup in Qatar, it's clear that the Brazilian's natural instincts are compromised by West Ham sitting deep and looking to hit teams on the counter.

The former AC Milan and Lyon midfielder parted company with his long-term agents earlier this summer, and it's understood his new representation have been assessing potential landing spots for Paqueta during the current transfer window.

Paris Saint-Germain showed interest in Paqueta earlier this summer and retain an interest in his services, while the recently appointed director of the Saudi Pro League, Michael Emenalo, is keeping apprised of the midfielder's situation at West Ham.

90min has also learned of significant interest from Premier League champions Manchester City, who have made a verbal offer of £70m for Paqueta. West Ham have turned that bid down and have insisted that they do not intend to sell Paqueta, however sources have told 90min that an offer 'too good to turn down' would be considered.

Whether or not City return for Paqueta remains to be seen, but they certainly have the financial capability to offer West Ham an increased figure - the money at their disposal evidenced by their £90m bid for Declan Rice earlier this summer. It's also rare for City to engage in talks unless they have a genuine belief of signing a player.

City's interest stems from their desire to replace Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez, who have left for Barcelona and Al Ahli respectively, but isn't believed to be connected to a potential sale of Bernardo Silva. 90min recently revealed that Barcelona have made fresh contact with Silva in an attempt to prise the Portuguese international away from City, but they have no intention to sell at this point. Paris Saint-Germain are also interested in the 28-year-old.

90min further understands that Newcastle's long-term interest in Paqueta has not waned, but a deal may be difficult for them to do because of Financial Fair Play regulations. A loan with obligation to buy appears to be the only way the Magpies could facilitate a move this summer, though that is unlikely to happen at this stage.