Lucas Paqueta latest: Why "the ship has sailed” for West Ham star to complete Man City transfer amid spot-fixing case

Manchester City expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany has told Sports Mole that he does not expect Pep Guardiola’s side to reignite their interest in West Ham United playmaker Lucas Paqueta.

Two years ago, Man City were allegedly close to completing a deal between £80m and £85m to sign the Brazilian, who helped the Hammers win the Conference League in 2022-23, but the transfer collapsed after the Football Association opened an investigation into alleged betting offenses.

Paqueta was charged for allegedly getting booked deliberately in four Premier League fixtures "for the improper purpose of affecting the betting market" in his native Brazil.

West Ham’s No.10 has denied all charges brought against him and was left "extremely surprised and upset" by the FA's decision in May 2024.

The possibility of an unprecedented lifetime ban from football had been looming over Paqueta, if found guilty, but it has recently been reported that the midfielder is expected to be cleared of spot-fixing by an independent regulatory commission.

This has led to suggestions that Man City could re-enter talks to sign Paqueta, who is believed to be admired by Guardiola and could be available for as little as £30m, as West Ham are allegedly willing to sever ties with the soon-to-be 28-year-old.

Teams might be “a little bit anxious” about signing Paqueta

However, McInerney cannot envisage Man City going back in for Paqueta, with the Citizens having already signed Tijjani Reijnders this summer, while interested suitors may now be “nervous” about any potential repercussions following the investigation.

“I do think, unfortunately, the ship has sailed for Paqueta,” McInerney told Sports Mole. “I don't really see any reason why that would have changed now.

“He's 28 next month, City have signed Tijjani Reijnders now, who plays a very similar role. He's a very similar kind of profile of player, and there's probably a little bit of doubt around [Paqueta], full stop.

“I know that [the investigation is] about to be over, but teams will be nervous about potential follow-ups or whatever, even if that's unfair. I think they'll just genuinely be a little bit anxious around the idea of signing him.

“If I'm being honest as well, he's not exactly set the world alight over the past two years either for West Ham. I feel like his form was at his best in the season before all this came to light.

“£80m to £85m is an absurd amount of money. It felt like it was about to happen back then, but even now, many years later, that still sounds like an awful lot of money for him. It sounds absurd.”

Man City moving on from Paqueta, Gibbs-White after Reijnders arrival

McInerney added: “City turned their nose up at (Nottingham Forest midfielder) Morgan Gibbs-White, who had a very similar level season, you'd argue, as [Paqueta] did when City were first linked to him. But Gibbs-White’s also homegrown and he might have been slightly less money than [Paqueta] anyway.

“It turns out, of course, Gibbs-White might have been available for £60m, but at the time, City didn't know. They were quoted £100m, it probably would have been about £80m. City didn't go for that.

“I can't see any reason why City would go back for a player who's two years older, who isn't homegrown, when we've got homegrown issues in the squad anyway, and we've signed Tijjani Reijnders, who is a very similar style player, a complete number eight who can get forward, who can defend a little bit, who can score goals.

“We've also got Nico Gonzalez, who was signed (in January), and the breakthrough of Nico O'Reilly. We’ve signed Sverre Nypan, the young Norwegian midfielder who’ll probably go on loan, but he's a talent that will be looking to come back.”

McInerney believes that Paqueta could have become world class at Man City, working under Guardiola and playing alongside the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Rodri.

“Unfortunately for Paqueta, I think he could have joined and started a lot for Guardiola and probably developed an awful lot,” said McInerney. “A player’s career isn’t linear. A sliding door moment can change your life forever.

“You could sign for a team in Manchester City and just get better around De Bruyne, who would have been there still, better around Rodri and find yourself world class, because it just clicks, but that's not happened.

“Unfortunately, I think that his career has gone one direction, compared to where it could have been, sadly.”

Paqueta tipped to secure “decent move” away from Premier League

He continued: “I don't think it’s going to happen. City won't go back in for him, in my opinion. I honestly think the fact that Gibbs-White has signed a new contract (at Forest)...he's probably got the handshake that he can leave a year from now for £60m. If push came to shove, City could wait for Gibbs-White for a year, or something like that, I reckon.

“I expect Paqueta will probably leave the Premier League, truth be told. A clean break is probably needed. He's played in Italy already, he's played in France already. I'm sure he'd suit La Liga if he wanted to go there.

“He's going to get a decent move, because he's a quality player, a Brazil international and so on. If I was him, I'd probably want to leave the Premier League because of all that's hanging over him. A clean start and a fresh break somewhere would be incredibly useful, I reckon.”

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