West Ham star and Man City target Lucas Paqueta has been making big headlines off the pitch rather than on it again this week.
When West Ham were plotting their big rebuild in the summer it was on the basis they would likely have £85m to play with from the sale of Lucas Paqueta to Manchester City.
The Hammers and Manchester City had a deal in place to take Paqueta to the Etihad last summer for his £85m release clause.
But a sudden investigation into his alleged involvement in illegal betting over yellow cards – which he vehemently denies – put paid to that move.
David Moyes and vice-chair Karren Brady recently confirmed West Ham were on the verge of signing Cole Palmer from Man City for around £40m until the collapse of the Paqueta deal scuppered that plan.
Journalist Graeme Bailey claimed Manchester City were ‘more determined than ever’ to sign West Ham’s playmaker ahead of the summer.
Reports in the wider football media claimed the case against Paqueta was going to be dropped.
Many West Ham fans had actually come around to the idea of selling Paqueta at his £85m clause.
The feeling among some was that the Brazilian ended last season ‘coasting’ ahead of “dream” move to Manchester City.
But when the FA announced Paqueta had been formally charged, the prospect of that Man City move hit the buffers again.
Major Man City X account’s incredible new Paqueta claim
The Brazilian will now have his fate decided by a three-person independent panel at at unknown date.
There has been claim and counter claim yet again this week regarding the accusations against Paqueta.
The Hammers midfielder spoke out on social media claiming reports in the press were in danger of prejudicing the case against him.
If Paqueta is cleared then there is a strong chance he will be sold at the next available opportunity – likely next summer.
However, if found guilty then West Ham would have grounds to sue the player for compensation.
But would West Ham find a buyer even if Paqueta is cleared?
Now a major Man City X account has made an incredible new claim about West Ham star Paqueta.
It’s a very unsavoury situation for a player of such natural talent to find himself in.
It remains to be seen whether that has been self-inflicted or not.
Will Manchester City still be waiting for Paqueta if he clears his name?
Embraces shared between Pep Guardiola and the Hammers ace suggest they might.
Particularly with Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva expected to leave Man City next summer.
‘Man City didn’t dodge Paqueta bullet, it’s worse’
The problem is the City target has been abysmal for West Ham in 2024.
Paqueta’s pathetic form continued in the 4-1 defeat to Spurs on Saturday.
And it hasn’t gone unnoticed at the Etihad it seems.
Real Talk Manchester City is one of the biggest social media accounts for the Cityzens with nearly 70,000 followers.
Remarkably the X account claimed Man City did not dodge a bullet after almost signing Paqueta for £85m.
Because it states they dodged a ‘nuclear missile’ instead.
“We almost signed Lucas Paqueta for £85m,” Real Talk Man City stated alongside an image showing the West Ham man’s 5.8/10 rating and the fact he was hooked on 61 minutes at Spurs.
“We didn’t dodge a bullet.
“We dodged a nuclear missile.”
It’s difficult to argue with that assessment.
Paqueta has been at fault for numerous goals West Ham have conceded this season.
He added another to his list when he tried a silly turn on the ball, giving it away for Spurs to break and score.
Paqueta should have been hooked at half-time but somehow stayed on despite his lack of contribution and yet another yellow card.
The 27-year-old was asleep as Yves Bissouma strolled into West Ham’s box to fire home and make it 2-1 in the second half.
West Ham will be lucky to find a buyer now regardless
It wasn’t long before Julen Lopetegui had finally seen enough, subbing him off.
The WhoScored rating for Paqueta seems generous.
Hammers News marked Paqueta at 2/10 for his pathetic display.
All too often the former Milan flop makes no meaningful contribution to matches. He doesn’t create chances or score goals with any regularity. He doesn’t really get stuck in or show any discipline in his defensive duties.
And he is a liability on the ball, as he showed by giving it away for the first and failing to track Bissouma for the second.
Now West Ham will be understandably concerned Man City will look elsewhere even if his name is cleared.
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