There is reported interest from Saudi Arabia in West Ham’s Brazilian international Lucas Paquetá; however, the club involved is not Al Ittihad, as has been incorrectly claimed elsewhere.
The confusion seems to have arisen from the double transfer rumour, which also links Mohammed Kudus with a move to the Saudi Pro League, as reported earlier this morning.
Al Ittihad’s pro league rivals, Al Nassr, are looking to bring in a creative central midfielder this summer and have shown interest in Paquetá. However, any deal will be complicated by the Football Association (FA) charges brought against the 26-year-old for allegedly spot-fixing.
The FA charges, which Paquetá denies, allege that he purposely received bookings “for the improper purpose of affecting the betting market in order for one or more persons to profit from betting.”
Whether Paquetá would be interested in moving to Saudi Arabia is yet unknown. However, it’s safe to assume that if the Brazilian is acquitted, his stalled transfer to Manchester City could be back on.
so al-nassr has just sold a foreign keeper and replaced them with a local saudi
so they now have one foreign player slot available in their roster
this deal could be on the cards – lets be realistic, the FA and it’s lawsuit means jack all to the saudis, they wouldn’t blink twice about a potential ban, would happily bankroll paquetas defence to stall it for years
hell i wouldn’t be surprised if this is related to city and they are looking to further complicate things for the FA on multiple legal fronts
at any rate, losing 85m (release clause) is not an issue for the saudis here, means SFA to them
so if paq is keen then i can see this happening
honestly, if i was paq and guilty i’d jump at it – you’d be insane not to
Get as much money as you can if true