It has been reported that Manchester City are unprepared to shell out more than an £80 million fee to sign Lucas Paqueta.
This comes from Football Transfers, after it was claimed on Thursday that the deal was set to enter into crucial stages.
However, it seems like Manchester City have capped the fee for Lucas Paqueta at £80 million.
Manchester City unwilling to pay more than £80 million to sign Lucas Paqueta
Branded as ‘magical’ by Claret and Hugh, the Brazilian international’s potential arrival at the Etihad Stadium has become a necessity.
With Kevin De Bruyne set to be sidelined through injury for the rest of the year, Pep Guardiola is serious need of bolstering his midfield department with a creative force.
However, it has been revealed that Manchester City look like they could now offer a package worth £80 million to sign Lucas Paqueta.
But West Ham are demanding a fee of £85 million, which is the same as his release clause, which gets activated in the summer of 2024.
As things stand, the treble-winners are unwilling to shell out an extra £5 million to secure his services.
The Lucas Paqueta deal must be wrapped up by any means necessary
Unless Manchester City have top-class alternative lined up for Lucas Paqueta, there is no reason why this deal should fall through.
Simultaneously, City’s stance is understandable as they tend not to overpay for their targets in order to avoid setting a poor precedent that they can be bullied in such transfer negotiations.
However, Lucas Paqueta’s signing has become borderline mandatory for the English giants, with Kevin De Bruyne’s injury.
Apart from Bernardo Silva, the 25-year-old may be the only midfielder in the Premier League who is also impactful in every phase of the game.
And in the final third, Paqueta is far more creative than the Portuguese maestro.
As a result, his arrival has become a non-negotiable for Pep Guardiola and Co. at this point.
