West Ham set Lucas Paqueta asking price as Man City's £70m bid rejected

Manchester City have identified the Brazilain as Bernardo Silva’s replacement

A number of sources in Brazil have revealed that Manchester City have made a £70 million offer to West Ham for Lucas Paqueta.

This summer, Pep Guardiola lost two significant assets in Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez, and despite the addition of Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea, City continues to look for further offensive prospects.

Paqueta, who joined West Ham from Lyon for £51 million a year ago, made an impact in his debut campaign.

GloboEsporte reports that City has put up a £70 million deal for the Brazilian midfielder, but West Ham is poised to reject it and want a bigger price.

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According to the publication, Guardiola was interested in signing Paqueta as a potential Bernardo Silva alternative last summer, however, the Portugal international chose to remain at City.

Silva is still one of Barcelona’s top recruitment candidates this summer, but the Manchester City team is determined to keep him and has offered him a new deal.

Paqueta cited the Etihad Stadium as his preferred venue to play at during his maiden Premier League season in a conversation with Betway Brazil last week.

While West Ham’s campaign gets underway on the road at Bournemouth on Saturday, August 12, City begins their Premier League championship defence at Burnley on Friday, August 11. It is uncertain whether the Cityzens will continue exploring Paqueta this summer.

Paqueta joined the East London squad a year ago for a £36.5 million ($46.6 million) signing bonus that may increase to £51 million ($65 million) with additional payments.

Under David Moyes, the club record acquisition had a strong first season, as the former Lyon player helped the Hammers capture the Europa Conference League.

The 25-year-old’s deal finishes in 2027, but West Ham sold Declan Rice to Arsenal for £105 million (£134 million), so it is unlikely that they would let another important midfielder go until they were paid a huge sum of money.

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