According to reports, Manchester United target Lucas Paqueta leaving West Ham United is a “concrete possibility” and he is one to watch in the coming weeks.
Man Utd have been active in the transfer market in recent months, with the Premier League giants investing around £230m on summer signings.
The Red Devils landed Senne Lammens, Benjamin Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha in the summer as Ruben Amorim‘s side raised funds through sales, with Marcus Rashford, Rasmus Hojlund, Alejandro Garnacho, Antony and Jadon Sancho among those to leave.
This positive business has strengthened Man Utd this season as they have entered the race for Champions League qualification, but they need to make further improvements in the coming windows.
Their priority will likely be to sign a new No.6, though they are also being linked with players in other positions.
Earlier this week,a report claimed they have ‘made contact’ with West Ham over signing Lucas Paqueta as they are ‘very keen’ to sign him.
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Despite this, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has revealed an update on this situation, with Man Utd not currently in “advanced negotiations” with West Ham over signing Paqueta.
“In January, if there is the right opportunity, Paquetá could have the possibility to leave West Ham,” Romano said on his YouTube channel.
“So keep an eye on that one, it’s a concrete possibility. But at the moment, I’m not aware of any advanced or concrete negotiations between Manchester United and West Ham or with Paquetá’s camp.”
He added: “Paquetá could be very interesting in terms of role and quality. But financially, West Ham are not going to give him away for cheap.”
It has also been suggested that the Red Devils are plotting an audacious move to sign Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos, though a report from Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke has explained why he thinks this transfer is pretty unlikely as the Blues have ‘responded to’ the Red Devils.
“I would be very surprised if Chelsea would even consider letting Andrey Santos go, especially to a Premier League rival in Man United,” O’Rourke told Football Insider.
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“He’s a top young player, he’s very highly regarded within the corridors of power at Stamford Bridge.
“I don’t imagine Chelsea will be looking to let him leave anytime soon. He’s under a long-term contract until 2030 at Chelsea as well.
“So Chelsea obviously have no real plans to lose him. I don’t see Chelsea listening to any offers for him anytime soon. They turned down a huge offer from the Saudi Pro League for Andrey Santos last month.
“So I don’t think they’ll be looking to lose the young player. Obviously they’ll be hoping that he can make an impact for Enzo Maresca’s side.”