Manchester City given green light to complete long-awaited £60m deal for Premier League rival: report

Manchester City have been handed a pathway to complete a long-awaited transfer for a Premier League star.

The Sky Blues started the summer with deals for the likes of Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Cherki and Rayan Ait-Nouri ahead of competing at the Club World Cup in the United States – but since their exit in the competition last month, they’ve only signed young midfield starlet Sverre Nypan and goalkeeper James Trafford.

With Pep Guardiola still with several uncertain aspects of his team – including in defence and midfield – it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that Manchester City strike again for another huge transfer before the window closes.

Manchester City could take their summer spending to over £200 million with yet another superstar addition

City have had a full-scale rebuild this summer with several outgoings to be decided, as the likes of Vitor Reis and Claudio Echeverri edge closer to loan exits and veteran figures Ederson and Ilkay Gundogan continue to be linked with transfers away.

Despite the heavy spend, however, there remain questions over the makeup of the defence and the midfield, with Guardiola’s first-choice back four still uncertain, along with how City are going to replace Kevin De Bruyne’s output and ease 2024 Ballon d’Or winner Rodri back into the side, following the Spaniard’s recovery from an ACL injury last term.

According to a report from Globo Brazil via Sport Witness, however, West Ham United have halved their asking price for Lucas Paqueta from a couple of years ago.

In August 2023, Paqueta’s £100 million move to the Etihad Stadium collapsed following investigations by both the FA and FIFA for breaches of betting rules – with City bringing in Wolverhampton Wanderers star Matheus Nunes instead.

The Brazilian has recently been cleared of the charges, and West Ham are said to be “open to renewed interest,” according to Sport Witness, demanding between £50m and £60m for the no.10, who provided the assist for Jarrod Bowen’s Conference League-winning goal in 2023.

Despite the option to sign a player that was highly coveted by Guardiola, however, FourFourTwo understands that City have moved on and are less interested in a deal now.

City have seen a turnover in recruitment with Hugo Viana replacing Txiki Begiristain behind the scenes, with the Basque officially leaving his role as Director of Football this week – and with Reijnders, Cherki, Phil Foden and Omar Marmoush all as options as the most advanced midfield role for Guardiola, it seems unlikely that he will push for another playmaker at this stage of the transfer window without a major sale.

Paqueta is worth €28m, according to Transfermarkt.

Mark White has been at on FourFourTwo since joining in January 2020, first as a staff writer before becoming content editor in 2023. An encyclopedia of football shirts and boots knowledge – both past and present – Mark has also represented FFT at both FA Cup and League Cup finals (though didn’t receive a winners’ medal on either occasion) and has written pieces for the mag ranging on subjects from Bobby Robson’s season at Barcelona to Robinho’s career. He has written cover features for the mag on Mikel Arteta and Martin Odegaard, and is assisted by his cat, Rosie, who has interned for the brand since lockdown.