Manchester City may yet make some more first-team signings this summer, but Pep Guardiola will first push some of the flotsam out of the door.
The likes of Jack Grealish and Kalvin Phillips seemingly have no future of substance within the Etihad Stadium first-team, and will surely take their leave before the end of the month.
The Citizens have also rejected an offer from Nottingham Forest for James McAtee, though the Tricky Trees are expected to return.
Guardiola enjoys working with smaller squads; he’s been vocal on that matter. However, the Spanish tactician might be convinced to add one talented Premier League talent to his ranks before the market slams shut.
Man City considering Prem star
Manchester City’s interest in Morgan Gibbs-White this summer suggests that Pep would be interested in adding some robust technical quality to his midfield.
Exciting French talent Rayan Cherki arrived from Lyon earlier in the summer for £34m, but the 21-year-old isn’t a player who can shuffle between offensive and deeper-lying zones with the greatest ease, his exciting qualities best served toward the attacking third of the field.
That one appears to be dead in the water, but that’s not to say City wouldn’t push ahead with another deal, should Grealish and McAtee both leave.
Indeed, according to Globo Esporte in Brazil, Man City have revived their interest in West Ham United’s Lucas Paqueta after the playmaker was exonerated in his high-profile spot-fixing case, which scuppered his £80m move to the club two years ago.
The 27-year-old is not priced in the sale towering ballpark anymore, with the Hammers seeking no more than £60m for his sale this summer.
What Lucas Paqueta would bring to Man City
Once hailed as a “magician” of a midfielder by reporter Robbie Mustoe, Paqueta joined West Ham from Lyon for a club-record £51m fee in 2021.
He’s since played 120 times for the Londoners, scoring 18 goals and providing 14 assists. The Brazil international played the assist into Jarrod Bowen’s path to win the Conference League in 2022.
Paqueta’s contentious reputation following the events of recent years, partnered with the fact that his departure wouldn’t carry the same poignancy for those of an Irons persuasion as with two years ago, could lead him to become Man City’s own version of Eric Cantona, whose finest days as a footballer were found on the red side of Manchester.
Cantona is considered one of the most notorious and talented players to have competed in the Premier League, joining the Red Devils from Leeds United for just north of £1m in 1992.
Though the move was met with fury from the Whites fanbase, it was maybe an astute piece of business given that he was a turbulent part of the squad.
Hailed as being “the catalyst that really galvanised the team for the next 25 years” at Man United by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the Frenchman was the real deal, posting 145 goal contributions from 185 matches in the nineties.
Could the £150k-per-week Paqueta have a similarly talismanic effect on this City side? They are hardly in disarray, but perhaps in need of some added inspiration and creative flair across the coming terms to reinstate this outfit as the indomitable force at the pinnacle.
Paqueta is confident and mature at 27. Likewise, Cantona was in the senior stage of his professional career when he made his big move, at 26 years old.
Paqueta lacks the same invincibility he might have felt when he wrapped up the 2023/24 season under David Moyes’ wing, having stumbled and fallen to the wayside over the past year.
But he’s now picked himself back up, absolved of wrongdoing in his recently closed court case. It means that Paqueta can focus solely on his football across the next few years of his prime, and where better to see those terms out than at Man City?
He remains one of the most talented and well-rounded midfielders in the Premier League, and a player who City could utilise to restore some of their former strength over the coming year – he’s proven in England’s top flight, as was Cantona, after all.
|
Lucas Paqueta’s Last Two Prem Campaigns |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Stats* * (per game) |
23/24 |
24/25 |
|
Matches (starts) |
31 (31) |
33 (27) |
|
Goals |
4 |
4 |
|
Assists |
6 |
0 |
|
Touches* |
65.7 |
58.6 |
|
Pass completion |
75% |
79% |
|
Big chances created |
12 |
4 |
|
Key passes* |
1.4 |
1.1 |
|
Dribble success |
59% |
50% |
|
Tackles + interceptions* |
3.0 |
2.5 |
|
Duels (won)* |
7.6 (50%) |
6.0 (48% |
|
Data via Sofascore |
||
Perhaps Paqueta lacked fluency and focus last season, but he didn’t endure a drastic drop-off, retaining the core elements of his skill set, which Pep could surely bring back to the fore. At his best, the one-time Flamengo man is Cantona-esque, with a certain Paul Scholes having even made that comparison:
“He is so impressive. He can do everything, can’t he? The big thing that has surprised me is his physicality. The size of him, he is a right unit. He almost reminds me of Cantona in that way that somebody who just bounces off him.”
As per FBref, Paqueta ranked among the top 6% of positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues last season for passes attempted, the top 13% for progressive passes, the top 3% for tackles, and the top 3% for ball recoveries per 90, highlighting the wide breadth of skill and style that would be woven into the City fold.
A ball recovery is defined by the number of loose balls recovered by a player.
Ultimately, Man City have so much quality in their ranks, and they would enrich that quality further still by signing Paqueta. However, Guardiola would also add a player with a combative mindset whose signature comes attached with more than a measure of controversy.
But, with Kevin De Bruyne having departed at the end of his contract, this might be a fantastic move to make for City as they gear up to reclaim their Premier League title.
After all, Paqueta was profiled comprehensively two years ago, and he could be a fantastic addition to a team in transition.
