Manchester City face Italian outfit Palermo in their first friendly of the summer on August 9.
The Citizens haven’t yet started their pre-season campaign due to their participation in the FIFA Club World Cup earlier this summer, but Pep Guardiola’s side will travel to Sicily to face the Serie B side.
City then begin the Premier League season with a visit to Wolves the opening weekend, before hosting Tottenham Hotspur in their first home game of the new campaign.
In the meantime, it has emerged that Man City could reignite their interest in a Premier League star.
As per Football Insider, City could once again look to sign midfielder Lucas Paqueta from West Ham United.
The Brazilian has recently been cleared of breaching the FA’s betting rules, almost two years after an investigation into a string of yellow cards was opened.
Paqueta has recently been cleared of breaching betting charges (Photo: Brazil Photo Press/Alamy)
City had previously tried to sign the Brazilian back in 2023, but the uncertainty surrounding the player’s betting probe caused the proposed move to collapse.
Paqueta joined the Hammers from French side Lyon back in 2022 and has since played 120 times for the East London side across all competitions, scoring 18 goals and providing 14 assists.
When City first showed interest in the midfielder in 2023, when an £85 million release clause was set to become active.
City had an initial offer of £70 million rejected for the Brazil international, before the player’s potential betting charges caused the move to collapse.
Now that Paqueta has been cleared of all charges, the report claims that City could once again move to sign the player this summer.
The ex-Lyon man is under contract at The London Stadium until the end of the 2026/27 campaign, but the Citizens could attempt to lure him away from the capital in the coming weeks.