Whispers

Hammers Plot £20M Move for Side-lined Man City Talent

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West Ham are reportedly preparing for the potential departure of Lucas Paquetá by making Manchester City midfielder James McAtee our primary January transfer target.

Concerns are growing at the club as Paquetá faces ongoing scrutiny from a betting investigation while also attracting loan interest from Brazilian side Botafogo who are top of the league. Sources within West Ham have previously revelled to C&H that Flamengo had made a loan move for Paq-man which was considered before being rejected.

If Paquetá were to leave or be suspended, McAtee is viewed as the ideal replacement, with reports suggesting a price tag exceeding £20 million. There is certainly an opinion within the Hammers hierarchy that a massive opportunity was missed by not signing City’s Cole Palmer when we had the chance.

Manchester City won’t go near Paquetá whilst his gambling probe is ongoing, making a straightforward deal for McAtee more likely.

Despite his potential, McAtee—nicknamed ‘Salford Silva’—has struggled for consistent opportunities under Pep Guardiola, with a handful of City fans calling for the talented 22-year-old to play a bigger role.

Whilst Paqueta had one of his better games for West Ham against Everton, he has failed to match his previous from as the ongoing betting investigation continues to take it’s toll. The Hammers loaned Carlos Soler from PSG this summer to help improve the team creatively but he has failed to impress.

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Kris Gonzo (commonly known to the West Ham community as Gonzo) is the co-founder of Hammers Chat (established 2014) and the lead video content creator and columnist for Claret and Hugh.

With over a decade of professional sports media experience, he is a frequent West Ham United analyst and contributor for Sky Sports News, BBC Football Focus, and BBC Radio 5 Live. He previously served as an official video and content creator for West Ham United FC during the club's tenure at Upton Park and featured in the official documentary commemorating the historic final game at the Boleyn Ground.

A lifelong Hammer since the legendary 10-0 victory over Bury, when he isn't providing daily match analysis on the Hammers Chat YouTube Channel or broadcasting on X (@GONZObignose), he can be found walking his dog and restoring classic pinball machines.

3 comments

  • Taffyhammer says:

    Kevin the carrot is available after Christmas. Just saying.

  • Bennyboy baker says:

    Sounds like a good plan with paqueta looking at a life time ban if found guilty of the charges against him but a bigger problem is JL with him still the manager none of the squad wants him to continue in his position along with fans and pundits alike Sullivan metro get rid of him now otherwise we won’t just have just members of the squad looking to leave the club no players that are quality players will want to join the club and who can blame them the only problem at West Ham is JL and backing him is the actions of a lunatic

  • Diggy says:

    Another player who will be ruined by the clown sulli refuses to sack.

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