The Manchester City move for West Ham United midfielder Lucas Paqueta is currently on hold, according to Sky Sports journalist Kaveh Solhekol.
While the situation could still change, there is a “90% chance” that the deal will not happen at the moment.
West Ham set a price of £85 million for the Brazil international midfielder, with Man City having so far bid substantially below that figure and seen their £70m verbal offer knocked back.
The amount equates to a release clause in Paqueta’s contract and although that is not active until next year, it is understood to be the figure that the Hammers will find acceptable to sell him for now.
It appears their asking price has dissuaded the Premier League champions, who could now move elsewhere, with Rennes star Jeremy Doku reportedly their preferred option.
Paqueta, 25, joined West Ham for £51m from Lyon last year and was one of their best players last season, and he caught the attention of Man City who still want to strengthen their midfield after losing the race for Declan Rice to Arsenal.
With the Etihad Stadium club set to move on, the decision could also affect the Hammers in their pursuit of Ajax midfielder Mohammed Kudus.
They are still working on the total verbal agreement with the Ghana international, while both clubs are yet to hold concrete talks over his transfer fees.
West Ham Technical Director Tim Steidten was in the Netherlands to hold face-to-face talks with Ajax over the signing of the attacking midfielder after manager David Moyes identified him as a potential replacement should Paqueta leave.
However, they may no longer see the need to sign Kudus if they manage to hold on to Paqueta, and it will be interesting to see how things develop in the coming days as nothing can be ruled out until the summer transfer window shuts on September 1.
