It could be said that Lucas Paqueta is the prototype of a player that Pep Guardiola likes, would sign, and is easy to match the needs of his tactical perfection. It is not Manchester City’s practice to go back to those that ‘said no,’ but in the case of the Brazilian midfielder, the three-time English champions could make an exception. In fact, City – who offered 70,000,000 euros last summer and West Ham rejected the offer – intend to go for the Brazilian again, whose contract will have a buy-out clause of 85,000,000 pounds, i.e. about 100,000,000 euros – as per British Athletic.However, not everything is clean in the files of the former Flamengo football academy member. It may have fallen into oblivion a bit, but after the negative response from the Hammers, City did not continue their pursuit of the attacking midfielder. City pulled the handbrake after the English Football Association charged the Brazilian with illegal betting.That’s one obstacle at the moment since, despite announcements from the Brazilian Football Association that no process is currently underway against Paqueta, Athletic assures that this is not true and that the Brazilian has not yet closed that infamous chapter. But no less important are the transfer fluctuations expected by City in the summer.We’re in big, big trouble with fatigue and injury problems, claims Pep GuardiolaThe possible arrival of Paqueta is directly related to the potential departures from the blue part of Manchester. And the fate of the West Ham team is in a strong cause-and-effect relationship with the fates of Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva. The departure of one of the two from the club where they gained the status of legends, would open the Etihad doors to Paqueta.Both the Belgian and the Portuguese rejected lucrative offers from Saudi Arabia last summer, however, in De Bruyne’s case, Athletic announced that a new ‘attack’ from the Arabian Peninsula is being prepared, while Silva has been ‘wanted’ in Spain since 2021, where his family lives, but City’s emissaries still managed to keep him. Now Silva has a buyout clause of 50,000,000 euros in his contract and it is realistic that there will be a huge number of those interested in signing him next summer. If you ask the petite ‘magician,’ his first wish was and is Barcelona.##EDITORS_CHOICE##City said goodbye to players such as Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez last summer, but with all their might – they had to keep Silva. Now it seems that the Cityzens are thinking ahead and paving the way for the Portuguese’s potential departure. Along with Paqueta, there are several other players on the wish list, but according to the circumstances, the Brazilian is the first pick. City are convinced that Jamal Musiala is not a realistic target and that Bayern will lure him to extend his contract. Joshua Kimmich is also on the radar. Let’s not forget that in the summer, after the ‘explosion’ in Girona (loan player from Troyes, which is also part of the City group), the left winger Savio will move to the Etihad.##NAJAVA_MECA_8028179##From City’s point of view, Paqueta is an ideal replacement for Bernardo Silva and the English champions have feedback from the footballer himself that he wants to continue his career at the Etihad. In mid-September last year, after a summer transfer window in which City failed to sign him, we saw a ‘fatherly’ embrace between Pep Guardiola and Paqueta. The Spanish expert realized even during Paqueta’s days in Lyon (2020-2022) that this is a footballer he could use as a playmaker, as a winger who, like Bernardo, moves to the middle and if necessary, can pull back and lead the build-up. And that’s why, if all pieces fall into place, there will soon be an announcement of another 100,000,000 euros transfer!
