Why Man City have Lucas Paqueta in their sights for a summer transfer again

It is not often that players get two chances to join Manchester City, but Lucas Paqueta could well be a special case.

Everything was heading towards a transfer last summer before a Football Association investigation was launched into allegations of betting rule breaches by the Brazilian, but City have him in their sights again.

West Ham are at risk of losing the 26-year-old this summer as an £85million ($106.8m) release clause becomes active in June.

City have seen plenty of transfers fall through over the years and it is generally the case that they move on to somebody else the year after, if the initial target has not already gone elsewhere: after missing out on Harry Kane in 2021, they signed Erling Haaland in 2022, for example.

But they have been impressed by Paqueta since his Lyon days and have maintained contact with his camp in recent months. Personal terms are also not expected to be a problem as City is Paqueta's first choice — and a move has progressed well since last summer.

A move to City for Paqueta fell through last summer (Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images)

Paqueta's firm desire is to join City, as it was last summer, but a move will only happen if he is cleared of the charges against him, and possibly if other players depart the Etihad Stadium.

Although a Brazil national team official had suggested that there were no ongoing cases against Paqueta during the previous international break, that is not the case and the investigation is still active.

Although West Ham had been reluctant to sell last summer — after rejecting an opening bid of €70million (£59.8m; $75.1m), they did not name an asking price — but City were always expecting to sign Paqueta before the allegations were made.

The investigation curtailed