Officials at Etihad Stadium are thinking about ending their interest in West Ham’s player Lucas Paqueta. This news came out this week.

Txiki Begiristain and his team in Manchester City’s transfer department started looking at Paqueta when they found out early in the season that Kevin De Bruyne, their player, hurt his hamstring again.

The player from Belgium had to get surgery for this and won’t be able to play until early 2024. He had the same problem during the UEFA Champions League final in Istanbul.

Lucas Paqueta was close to joining Pep Guardiola’s team at Manchester City, but the club quickly lost interest when they were about to finalize the deal. This change happened because it was revealed that Paqueta was being investigated by the FA and FIFA over gambling claims.

With these issues still unresolved, recent reports suggest that Manchester City might completely lose interest in Paqueta in the next weeks or months. Some people thought the deal might be reconsidered in January.

FootballTransfers’ Steve Kay reports that Manchester City, the current Premier League winners, are now planning to stop pursuing West Ham United’s midfielder Lucas Paqueta. This follows an intense chase for him in the recent summer transfer period.

The report explains that even though Brazil’s player, Lucas Paqueta, is still of interest to the officials at Etihad Stadium, they want the gambling issues around him resolved before they decide to make a deal for him in the upcoming months.

Interestingly, it’s also said that Manchester City is ready to look more seriously at other players if Paqueta’s situation doesn’t clear up. One of the names mentioned is Serge Gnabry from Bayern Munich, who they find very interesting.

Towards the end of the summer transfer window, City shifted their focus to Matheus Nunes from Wolverhampton Wanderers. The player from Portugal even went on strike to push for his transfer and get the move he wanted.

Despite their recent success, the team that won the Treble is still interested in adding midfielders. Whether or not they continue to consider Lucas Paqueta, they are very likely to invest in this position in the next summer transfer window.

Looking at the near future, Manchester City is showing increased interest in Boca Juniors and Argentina’s young left-back, Valentin Barco. He might move to Etihad Stadium in the upcoming winter transfer market.