Newcastle have set their sights on West Ham star Lucas Paqueta for £52m despite rejecting Manchester City’s £69m bid.
Paquetà wanted to join Manchester City this summer, but West Ham wanted more money than City had to offer. The Hammers were looking for around £90m.
The two clubs eventually agreed an £80 million deal and Paquetà was close to signing, but the FA prevented the transfer due to an investigation into bets made by Paquetà.
They sold Rice to Arsenal for £105m. Paquetà presented Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and other staff members with a huge reward this weekend when the two clubs faced each other.
This indicates that a move to the Etihad is still on the table for Paqueta, but Newcastle will fight for him.
It appears the two Saudi-owned clubs will battle it out for Paqueta’s signature in January.
It has been reported that Newcastle will offer West Ham £52m for Paqueta, despite West Ham rejecting Manchester City’s initial offer of £69m and West Ham only responding to an offer of around £90m of pounds for the Brazilian.
Newcastle definitely have the money, but it will depend on how much they want the player.
Paqueta has 15 goals since joining West Ham last summer.
The attacking midfielder has shown a lot of creativity and flair to attract the attention of big clubs.
Hammers appear to have a penchant for selling players for big money after Rice left for Arsenal for £105million.
They are hoping for a similar situation as both Saudi clubs will be lining up for Paqueta with their debit cards in January.
