Pundit Danny Murphy has said that it would make sense for Manchester City to sign Lucas Paqueta.
Earlier today, it was reported that the Citizens are interested in signing the West Ham United midfielder this summer but have had a £70m offer knocked back by the Hammers.
This has now led to one pundit discussing this potential move and how the Brazilian could fit at the Manchester club.
Murphy says Paqueta would be a smart signing for City
Speaking on talkSPORT, Murphy had this to say when asked if he thinks Paqueta would be a good fit in Pep Guardiola’s side.
He said: “I think if you look at their three midfield positions at the moment, you’d say at the start of the season if he was picking his best team you’d have Rodri, [Mateo] Kovacic and [Kevin] De Bruyne.
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“But you need more than three, obviously, Bernardo Silva can play in there if he stays but he generally played out right in the big games last season.
“Paqueta could play in the De Bruyne role, he’s obviously not in the same level as De Bruyne but he’s creative and he can play that. He can also play the Kovacic role where he’s a bit deeper because he plays there for Brazil.
“It makes sense to me. His last three months in a West Ham shirt were really good. I thought the fans were starting to see the real Paqueta then he had some terrific games near the end of the season.”
Across his debut season at the east London club, the 25-year-old scored five goals and delivered seven assists in a combined total of 39 appearances in the Premier League and the Europa Conference League.
As Murphy mentioned, Paqueta played in different positions for David Moyes’ side last season such as attacking-midfield, central-midfield and defensive-midfield.
This highlights his versatility and what he’d be able to offer Pep Guardiola’s side if he ends up making a move to the Etihad Stadium before the summer transfer window closes.
In addition to that, the Brazil international made more passes into the penalty area (30) and won more tackles (53) than any other West Ham player throughout their previous Premier League campaign.
Moving forward, with his versatility, his usefulness in front of goal and the top-flight experience he now has under his belt, we agree with Murphy that this deal could end up being a very smart piece of business from the treble winners.