Manchester City have been linked with a move for Lucas Paqueta.
The Brazilian has emerged as a target for the Treble winners, having impressed at West Ham United in his first season.
City have signed two players so far this summer.
Croatian duo Mateo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol have both come in, and City fans are delighted with those additions.
But there is a feeling within the fanbase that City need one or two more.
And it looks as though Paqueta is someone the club have interest in.
At the moment, City are thought to have offered £70 million for the South American.
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But surely, City are going to have to do a lot better than that because of who they are dealing with…
West Ham know City have the money there from Declan Rice bid
City have apparently offered £70 million.
But West Ham are not under pressure to sell. Paqueta has a contract with the club until 2027.
Surely, City are going to have to offer at least £20 million more to stand any chance of signing the star, and even then it’s unlikely a deal gets done.
This is because West Ham know that City have the cash there.
Earlier this summer, City made a bid for Declan Rice that was worth £90 million.
So the Hammers can easily now turn around and demand that the bidding starts from that figure.
Considering they do not want to sell the player, City would surely be looking at a club-record fee to sign Paqueta.
Declan Rice bid will be used against Man City in Paqueta chase
City are well up against it to sign Paqueta.
And the previous bid for a Rice will be a big reason for that.
West Ham know that City can offer such an amount, having rejected a bid from them this summer.
Of course, since that rejected Rice bid, City have splashed £77.5 million on Josko Gvardiol.
But the club are seemingly in a position to offer £70 million for Paqueta.
And it’s likely that Aymeric Laporte will be sold in this window. And possibly Joao Cancelo too.
So the Hammers know that they can definitely get at least £20 million more for their Brazilian maestro, who has been branded a ‘mind-boggling’ player by Rice.