According to L’Équipe, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur are the most credible options for Lyon’s Lucas Paquetá (24) – the former being most advanced in discussions for the player.
The latter club had an offer worth over €40m rejected in January, with Lyon turning down a further midfield sale having already let go of Bruno Guimarães to Newcastle for €50m. The player is not reportedly currently interested in the prospect of Newcastle or Arsenal.
Lyon are yet to receive a concrete offer this summer for the Brazilian midfielder, even if formal contact has been established with three Premier League clubs.
The player asked to leave Lyon earlier this summer, after refusing to begin negotiations on a contract renewal with Les Gones. Lyon were hoping to bring his salary to the level of the highest earners at the club, after initially signing him on a cut-price transfer fee and wages from Milan in 2020. With the team missing out on European football altogether after a disappointing campaign, Paquetá is now expected to move on. The club president Jean-Michel Aulas is now said to be “dreaming” of breaking the club’s record sale, which until now has been the €60m that Tottenham paid for Tanguy Ndombele.
Arsenal had established contact with the player through technical director Edu, who had publicly expressed his admiration for his compatriot, but the player was not totally convinced by the Gunners. It is a similar case with Newcastle, despite the attraction of friend and former teammate Bruno Guimarães.
Manchester City and Tottenham are thus the likeliest destinations for Paquetá, whose contract at Lyon runs until 2025. The Citizens are reportedly most advanced in discussions to sign the Brazilian international who has scored a total of 17 goals in 64 appearances in Ligue 1 since joining Lyon in 2020 from Milan.
However, any further moves for the Brazilian depend on whether City will be able to move on Bernardo Silva, who wants to leave and whose agent Jorge Mendes is looking for a new club, in particular in Spain with Real Madrid and Barcelona as options. In Spurs’ case, a midfield sale would also need to take place – either Tanguy Ndombele or Giovani Lo Celso – before Paquetá could arrive.
In any case, Peter Bosz has made Paquetá one of the key men in his squad for the upcoming season, and he will remain so until a move to the Premier League materialises.
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