Report | spectre of Manchester City move returns to haunt West Ham

The possibility of West Ham losing one of their ‘Crown Jewels’ to a major Premier League predator such as Manchester City receded with the announcement by the FA of the enquiry into Lucas Paquetá’s yellow cards for bets allegations (which he of course denies). A deal was agreed in 2023 with City which fell through when the news of the enquiry broke.

But according to former City player and agent Barry Silkman, Paquetá’s move may well be heading back to the top of the agenda.

Ahead of an upcoming ‘talking City’ podcast, the manchestereveningnews.co.uk report today in their article entitled ‘Deal was done’ – Man City transfer that collapsed – could it happen now?” describes just how close the Lucas Paquetá move to Manchester City had got – before the news of the enquiry and subsequent charges broke.

The football agent discusses how much the threat of the enquiry has subsequently affected Paquetá’s form, but that the spectre of a move away from London Stadium could rise again to haunt West Ham.

Says Silkman in the report: “It’s affected Lucas ever since. He’s started playing the last few games like he did before and hopefully the situation he’s got will disappear and I still think he would be a major addition for Manchester City now.”

And confirming another truth about West Ham’s Crown Jewels – Paquetá, Bowen and Mohammed Kudus, the Manchester Evening News report continues:

‘Silkman still has hope for Paqueta and believes there are three players at West Ham that could have played at the Etihad if they had recruited differently.

“It’s really strange because you look at a team like West Ham and they’re alright yet they’ve got three players that I believe could walk into City’s team. Not play for them – walk into the team.”

Much will depend on the FA hearing outcome, due this summer but already delayed and rescheduled. If Paquetá finally gets his chance to clear his name and if Silkman is correct it could be the very springboard to the next stage of his career away from West Ham. So very much a double edged sword for West Ham fans.