West Ham attacking midfielder Lucas Paqueta is reportedly being investigated by the English Football Association (FA) for potential betting breaches.
Paqueta, whose move to Manchester City broke down today, August 18, could now potentially face punishments if he is found guilty.
The investigation is believed to centre around Paqueta getting booked in games, with the bets being placed in Brazil. He was booked nine times for club and country last season.
Paqueta had denied claim of placing bets himself and is said to be shocked by reports. An £80m deal for Paqueta to join Man City has almost been agreed and could still happen if the issue is cleared up quickly.
West Ham now faces an anxious wait to discover whether their record signing will be charged. Sources at the club suggested that Lucas Paqueta who joined for £51m last summer, would be available to play in Sunday’s home game against Chelsea in spite of the speculated investigation by the FA.
Paqueta has become a key player for David Moyes and laid on the assist for Jarrod Bowen to score the winner when West Ham beat Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final last season. He emerged as a target for City this month and they had an initial £70m proposal turned down. Paqueta’s contract contains an £85m release clause that becomes active next summer and City were expected to return with a new bid after losing Kevin De Bruyne to a hamstring injury for months.
Pep Guardiola is now expected to turn his gaze elsewhere as he hunts for a replacement for Ilkay Gündogan but sources close to Paqueta remain hopeful a deal could go through. City are also looking at the Rennes winger Jérémy Doku as a replacement for Riyad Mahrez.
Earlier this summer, Brentford and England striker Ivan Toney was given an eight-month ban from football for breaches of FA betting rules. The 27-year-old pleaded guilty to 232 charges, and was told he wouldn’t be allowed to train with his teammates for the first four months of the ban.
