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10th August 2023
05:30pm BST
West Ham have reportedly rejected a huge £87,000,000 (€101,000,000) bid from Manchester City for Lucas Paqueta.
The reigning Premier League champions submitted the monster bid as they search for midfield reinforcements following Ilkay Gundogan's departure to Barcelona this summer.
Paqueta is said to be keen to leave the Hammers, but the London club have told City they won't accept anything less than £95m for the Brazilian midfielder.
According to Foot Mercato, talks are continuing between the two clubs and there is confidence on both sides that a deal can be reached.
The 25-year-old only joined West Ham last summer from French side Lyon for an initial fee of £36.5m.
Although the midfielder has a reported £85m release clause in his contract, this does not become active until next summer.
He made 41 appearances in all competitions for David Moyes' side, scoring five goals and registering seven assists.
The midfielder was a key part of the West Ham team, and was crucial in their triumphant Europa Conference League campaign.
Paqueta is also a regular for his nation, having scored nine goals in 42 appearances for Brazil.
His departure from West Ham would be another high profile loss for the club this summer, following Declan Rice's transfer to Arsenal in July.
But the club have started bolstering their squad ahead of the new Premier League season, and are said to be on the verge of signing Harry Maguire and James Ward-Prowse, both for £30m, and have completed the signing of midfielder Edson Alvarez from Ajax.
They're also being heavily linked with Scott McTominay.
West Ham begin their Premier campaign with a trip to Bournemouth on Saturday.
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