Jose Enrique has tipped Manchester City target Lucas Paqueta to emerge as a brilliant long-term replacement for Riyad Mahrez.
The outspoken pundit took to Twitter to express his views, after it was reported on Wednesday that even Pep Guardiola was a huge admirer of the West Ham United technician.
Now, Jose Enrique has backed Lucas Paqueta to succeed at Manchester City as the heir to Riyad Mahrez.
Jose Enrique tips Manchester City target Lucas Paqueta as the perfect Riyad Mahrez replacement
The obstacles that stands in the treble-winners’ way is the fact that the Europa Conference League winners have snubbed their initial £70 million offer, as they intend to demand as much as £85 million for his signature.
Whether the Sky Blues splash the cash to such an extent sign Paqueta remains a mystery but it has been revealed that the 25-year-old, branded as ‘fantastic’ by David Moyes (via Claret and Hugh) is interested in the move.
Now, Jose Enrique has said that if Manchester City end up signing Lucas Paqueta, he would be the perfect fit to replace Riyad Mahrez in the long run.
“He is a really good player and he will go to replace Mahrez. If we [Liverpool] were able to do the same, we will be fighting with them for everything but [it] is impossible with FSG”, he tweeted.
“Really like him but when you play for West Ham, it is not the same when you play for City. You have much better players around you”, Enrique added.
Whether the vision at Manchester City is to deploy the versatile attacker on the right-wing in the same vein as Riyad Mahrez remains unknown but Jose Enrique believes Pep Guardiola could turn him into a workhorse.
“Neither [Erling] Haaland or [Jack] Grealish had it before and they won the treble last season. For me, a very, very good player that can do really well at City.”
The former Liverpool left-back is clearly bullish about the Brazilian international being a hit at the Etihad Stadium, if the move does come to fruition.
