Brazilian midfielder Lucas Paqueta is currently being investigated by football stakeholders for suspicious betting breaches, and the situation has affected a potential move to Manchester City.
West Ham United man, Paqueta, has been linked with a move to Manchester City since the last week as Pep Guardiola look to add more options to a team that has lost some of their best legs this summer.
The recurring hamstring injury to Kevin De Bruyne, which has also seen the Belgian now ruled out for a long period is also a major concern for the Cityzens, and Lucas Paqueta is one of the few players the club wants to bring in this summer.
Paqueta, a former AC Milan and Flamengo player, who has also won 42 caps for the Brazilian national team since his debut in August 2018 is really admired by the treble winners.
There are also links with Rennes’ Belgian winger, Jeremy Doku, who was one of the stars in the Ligue 1 last season.
West Ham United are demanding around £80 million from Manchester City for Lucas Paqueta, who arrived in London from Lyon last summer, in a £51 million deal has become one of the most important figures for David Moyes’ side
Lucas Paqueta has featured 42 times for West Ham, scoring five times and setting up seven others. He was also instrumental in their conquest in the UEFA Europa Conference League last season.
One of his 29 Premier League appearances for The Hammers so far has appeared to get him into trouble due to some unusual betting pattern that was triggered by his yellow card in a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa back in March.
Lucas Paqueta was booked for needlessly lunging on John McGinn, earning the first yellow card of the match with around 20 minutes left to play at the London Stadium.
Initial analysis showed that on that day, several new accounts were created at Betway, account linked with people close to Lucas Paqueta, with users depositing the maximum amount allowed.
These accounts made a married bet to increase the winnings: the authors would only receive the money if Paquetá took yellow in the match against Aston Villa, and if Luiz Henrique of Betis, another Brazilian, received the card against Villarreal, on the same day on March 12.
It came to be as both players were booked on the day, as Henrique was also shown a yellow card in the 89th minute of the 1-1 draw in the Estadio de la Ceramica in Villarreal.
25-year-old Lucas Paqueta has agreed to personal terms with Manchester City and hoped to complete the move before the situation surfaced, and now the possibility of that move materializing is fading.
Manchester City are reportedly moving for RB Leipzig’s Dani Olmo as an alternative to Paqueta, while FIFA and the English FA continue their investigation on the possible betting breaches.
More troubles for Paqueta as he has also been removed from Brazil’s squad for the upcoming international games, with an official statement from the Brazil FA saying it’s “for him to sort out his problems
