Manchester City are being tipped to finally complete their long-awaited Lucas Paqueta transfer this summer, but sources are suggesting their spending will not end there.
Lucas Paqueta Transfer Exclusive
Lucas Paqueta’s £85million release clause is set to be triggered after this season, and there is increased expectation that he lands at City as a major reinforcement for next season.
Paqueta is keen to make the move and there is a feeling that West Ham are resigning themselves to such a switch.
Yet insiders close to City believe the club will line up another top name too, and the midfield is expected to be the focus of attention beyond Paqueta’s expected switch.
SportsLens understands both Bruno Guimaraes and Joao Neves are potential targets for the next window and that one of them could arrive as part of a squad change.
City will sell Kalvin Phillips in the summer, and doubt remains over whether Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva will remain at the club.
Guimaraes has a £100million trigger to get him out of Tyneside while Neves has a clause set at €120million at Benfica.
City’s current transfer record is the £100million they paid Aston Villa for Jack Grealish, but another sizeable figure could be on the horizon as the Etihad club refuse to sit still.
City are still on course for a second successive treble this season as they face Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals, head into a quarter-final home second-leg against Real Madrid with the score tied, and chase down a fourth successive Premier League title.
Guardiola’s City contract expires in 2025 and he could stay beyond that if he is convinced of the ambition and drive to keep moving forwards.
Guardiola is a huge admirer of Newcastle’s Guimaraes, 26, and last month the City boss said: “He is an exceptional holding midfielder. He is aggressive, with the ball or without the ball.”
Newcastle are facing up to the potential of having to sell one of their big names this summer and Guimaraes’ clause makes him attainable. Neves, 19, is on the radar at City but it is not yet clear how likely an offer is.
Jama Musiala has also been linked with City but sources in Germany find it hard to believe that he will leave Bayern Munich in the summer. It is a similar case with Florian Wirtz, as the Bayer Leverkusen star is admired by City yet is expected to stay with Xabi Alonso for next season.
Add Sportslens to your Google News Feed!
