Manchester City ready to drop interest in Premier League star – Attention could turn to Bayern Munich playmaker | OneFootball

Officials at the Etihad Stadium are prepared to pull the plug on their interest in West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta, according to a new report this week.

Txiki Begiristain and his colleagues within the transfer department at Manchester City placed their attentions on Paqueta after it had emerged early on in the ongoing season that Kevin De Bruyne had sustained a reoccurrence of a hamstring injury.

The Belgium international was subsequently ruled out until early on in 2024 having undergone surgery on the issue to prevent further problems, having sustained the same issue in the UEFA Champions League final in Istanbul.

While Lucas Paqueta had emerged as a serious contender to come into Pep Guardiola’s squad, Manchester City retracted their interest swiftly with a deal on the verge of completion, after it had emerged that the player was at the centre of an FA and FIFA investigation into gambling allegations.

With those issues still yet to be resolved, it has now been reported that Manchester City could remove their interest in the player entirely in the coming weeks and months, despite the feeling in some quarters being that a move could be back on the table in January.

That is according to the information of FootballTransfers’ Steve Kay, who states that the Premier League champions are now ready to drop their interest in West Ham United’s midfield star Lucas Paqueta, following an intense pursuit during the recent summer market.

It is detailed that while the Brazil international is still a ‘player of interest’ to Etihad Stadium officials, they want a resolution over the ongoing gambling issues currently hanging over the player before committing to a deal for him in the coming months.

In an interesting development, it is further reported that Manchester City are ready to explore other targets more seriously, should there be no resolution to Paqueta’s situation, with Bayern Munich’s Serge Gnabry named as a ‘player of significant interest’.

City went on to move for Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Matheus Nunes towards the end of the summer transfer window, with the Portugal international having gone on strike in order to force the issue and secure his desire change.

However, the Treble winners’ interest in midfield recruitment has been retained, and whether or not Lucas Paqueta remains a player of interest, they are almost certain to look into spending in the role during the next summer window.

In the more immediate future, Manchester City intensifying their interest in Boca Juniors and Argentina youth international left-back Valentin Barco, who could make a move to the Etihad Stadium during the upcoming winter market.