Man City have offered more than €100m for West Ham star, but Hammers ‘want more’

Manchester City have reportedly offered more than €100m for West Ham United star Lucas Paqueta after making him their ‘end of transfer priority’.

The Hammers have already sold Declan Rice to Arsenal for a whopping £105m (€121m) this summer, so they are certainly not short for cash at the moment.

David Moyes is understandably reluctant to lose another key midfielder, especially so close to the start of the season.

Paqueta is keen on a move to Man City, however, and £88m (€101m) is a lot of money to turn down because he reportedly has an £80m (€92.34m) release clause that becomes active in 2024.

The Cityzens made a bid of £70m (€80.80m) for the Brazil international last week. West Ham rejected this offer instantly.

Guardiola seems desperate to sign Paqueta, and Man City have now responded with an improved bid.

According to Foot Mercato, a new verbal offer of £88m (€101m) has just been submitted to West Ham for the Brazilian international.

However, despite this being a ‘crazy sum’ for the former Lyon midfielder West Ham are refusing to budge and are not yet ready to ‘give in’ to Manchester City.

Instead, they are pushing for a deal worth a minimum of £88m (€110m) , which FM state is a ‘real madness’ but something that could end up being matched given City’s financial power and the money in the Premier League.

Either way it is a rapidly developing situation, with those in charge at the Etihad seemingly not giving up but their counterparts in London not willing to bend or break easily either.

Paqueta signed for West Ham last summer for a fee of £51m (€60m) . The 25-year-old has since made 41 appearances across all competitions, scoring five goals and making seven assists in the process.

With all parties ‘confident’ a deal can be struck for Paqueta, though, it seems the midfielder is likely to make the switch to the Etihad.

Guardiola has already brought in one new midfielder in Mateo Kovacic this summer. He is a solid option alongside the likes of Kevin de Bruyne and Kalvin Phillips.

The manager seems keen to further bolster his midfield and is evidently prepared to spend big on Paqueta this summer.

With that in mind, it will be interesting to see if Man City with a third offer for Paqueta in the near future.

It isn’t clear at this stage how much West Ham would be willing to accept for the Brazilian. Man City have plenty of money to spend, though, so are unlikely to hold back if Guardiola has set his sights on signing him.