West Ham United star Lucas Paqueta is being investigated by thҽ Football Association for potential betting breaches after it was revealed on Friday that his move to Man City is off.
It has been widely reported that talks between West Ham and thҽ Premier League champions over thҽ Brazil star have stalled and thҽ reason cited was that thҽ Hammers wanted more than £85m for thҽ player.
City’s interest was strong following thҽ injury to Kevin De Bruyne last week and thҽy had already approached thҽ London club with a £70m bid.
Reports on Friday morning however revealed that Manchester City’s pursuit of Paqueta was stalling, with thҽ proposed deal collapsing due to a ‘confidential issue.’
Thҽ Daily Mail have now exclusively revealed that thҽ 25-year-old is currently subject to an FA investigation for potential betting breaches, throwing any move to thҽ Etihad Stadium into chaos.
Specific details relating to thҽ investigation are yet to be disclosed, however West Ham are now ‘nervously’ waiting to see if thҽ midfielder is charged by thҽ authorities.
According to thҽ information of Sky Sports’ Kaveh Solhekol, Paqueta himself has been left ‘surprised and shocked’ by thҽ emergence of an FA investigation, understood to be related to bets placed in Brazil and not by thҽ player himself.
Regarding a potential deal involving Manchester City, Solhekol reports that City had almost agreed an £80 million deal for thҽ Brazilian midfielder, and a move could still happen if thҽ ongoing issue is ‘cleared up quickly’.
However, this is contradicted by TNT Sports’ Fred Caldeira and Vitor Sergio in Brazil, who report that Lucas Paqueta’s representatives thҽmselves have confirmed thҽ end of negotiations with Manchester City directly linked to thҽ ongoing investigation.
