Manchester United have reportedly made an approach to see whether a deal for West Ham United’s Lucas Paqueta could be feasible.
According to a report relayed by Football365, the Red Devils have ‘asked for more details’ to determine what the Brazilian’s transfer fee would be in January.
Whilst an unlikely name to be linked with, it’s not too far out of the realm of possibility, given United are actively targeting a new midfield addition in both the winter and next summer.
Lucas Paqueta: The state of play
As well as that, there’s also the chance United are looking to capitalise on the Irons’ potential relegation.
Currently, they sit 19th in the table on just four points, having won one game all season.
When he joined the East London outfit from Olympique Lyonnais in August 2022, his arrival broke the club record for a transfer after they shelled out £51 million to sign the then-24-year-old.
Paqueta’s contract is now poised to expire in June 2027, with West Ham holding the option of extending his stay at the London Stadium by an additional 12 months.
Why Paqueta might be overseeing his final term with West Ham
However, in the event they do indeed drop down to the Championship, you’d imagine the Flamengo graduate would be pushing to embark on a new venture elsewhere.
He has now racked up 101 Premier League appearances, returning 14 goals and nine assists, and played an integral role in the Hammers’ Conference League triumph under David Moyes in 2022/2023.
Paqueta has also earned an impressive 59 caps in total for Brazil since making his debut in 2018, with Carlo Ancelotti continuing to utilise the 28-year-old amidst his ongoing struggles at club level.
I think we can do better than Paqueta. Hjulmand or Agoume should be the ones we are looking at in January. But if we want someone from the Premier League, it has to be WHARTON. He is the one who could drive us up the table and into Champions League position. We must think this way and bring in a couple of players in January. Midfield and a CB or wing back.
I would ask anyone doubting the value of this transfer to watch the game West Ham v Nottm Forest from earlier this season. Paqueta was absolutely brilliant, he was everywhere on the pitch, and was still sprinting the whole length of the pitch in the 90th minute. A phenomenal performance.