Lucas Paqueta has been charged by the FA in relation to four separate breaches of betting rules during his time with West Ham, and it has been claimed that his career could be over as a result.
There have even been suggestions that the Hammers could actually sue the 26-year-old for a ‘breach of contract’.
Paqueta is under contract with the Hammers until the summer of 2027, and the club have the option to extend that deal by a further year.
Before all of these allegations came to light, the Brazilian was being heavily tipped to join Manchester City, and back in the summer of 2023 it was claimed that he had his heart set on a move to the Etihad.
Man City obviously stepped away from a potential move for Paqueta when news of the betting investigation emerged, but they rekindled their interest in the former Lyon man over the past month or so (Manchester Evening News).
However, that news broke before he was formally charged by the FA. So the rumours went quiet yet again.
The latest transfer news suggests to me that a move to Man City for Paqueta could well be back on though…
West Ham may already know Lucas Paqueta investigation outcome
Hammers boss Julen Lopetegui has somewhere around £85-100 million to spend this summer, and considering the fact he needs to bring in a bare minimum of six players, that’s hardly a lavish war-chest is it.
If we are to make any big money signings, Lopetegui will obviously have to supplement his budget by making some big sales.
Paqueta is one of our most highly valued assets, and if we did manage to sell him this summer, Lopetegui could be more extravagant with his purchases.
According to A Bola, West Ham are eyeing a blockbuster £85 million move to sign Pedro Goncalves from Sporting CP this summer.
If Lopetegui is to have any chance whatsoever of signing the fleet-footed winger, he will absolutely have to sell Paqueta.
So if there’s any truth to the report claiming West Ham could move for Goncalves this summer, it makes me think that the club already know the outcome of the Lucas Paqueta investigation.
Maybe I’m just overthinking it, who knows?
However, I’m sure that any moves for players valued at £40 million or higher will coincide with Paueta moving on this summer.
