Man City give West Ham new hope of blockbuster deal with strategic move. Almost a quarter of a billion pounds could and should have changed hands between Manchester City and West Ham in the last year. When West Ham were plotting their major rebuild this summer it was on the basis they would have £85m to play with from the sale of Lucas Paqueta to Man City. Sorry, We Need To Talk About Fabrizio Romano. 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 this 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 the Etihad this summer.
But when the FA announced West Ham ace Paqueta had been formally charged, the prospect of joining Man City hit the buffers again.
The Brazilian will now have his fate decided by a three-person independent panel at at unknown date. It all comes after Man City matched Arsenal’s £100m plus bid for Declan Rice only for the ex West Ham captain to choose north London instead.
The Paqueta situation is a worry for West Ham in terms of getting that money for the Brazilian magnifico. One thing is clear, Paqueta looks likely to leave West Ham when his future is decided one way or another.
If he is found guilty then he will receive a long-term ban and the door will be open for the Hammers to sue the player. If he is absolved in the not too distant future then he will be sold. That decision is expected to be handed down before next summer.
So many expected Manchester City to move on and sign an alternative. Well now Man City have given West Ham new hope of a blockbuster deal with a strategic move.
Gundogan a clear stop-gap as Man City wait for Paqueta. Premier League champions Man City have re-signed Ilkay Gundogan from Barcelona.
The 34-year-old is returning to his old club on a one year deal with the option for another year.
It is being reported the move to bring Gundogan back is a stop-gap signing to buy Man City time to get their next long term midfielder signing in the door.
Given Manchester City could go out and more or less get any player in the world, that suggests one thing. The Gundogan deal is being done while Man City wait for West Ham’s Paqueta. This time next year the case will be resolved and bringing back Gundogan bridges the gap perfectly.
In reality this is great news for West Ham.
Had Man City gone out and signed a top new midfielder for big money this summer then it would have been clear they had moved on from Paqueta. But this short-term fix with Gundogan suggests the polar opposite.
