West Ham nearing Lucas Paqueta deal worth in excess of €50m

West Ham United are pushing to agree a deal worth in excess of €50m including bonuses for Lucas Paqueta, having seen an initial bid of €40m turned down by Lyon, sources have told 90min.

The Hammers are rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table after defeats in their opening three league games, and are actively looking to increase the quality in David Moyes’ squad despite making seven summer signings to date.

90min reported on Wednesday that West Ham had made a bid for 24-year-old Paqueta, who has also been of interest to Arsenal and Newcastle, worth €40m – the value they understood from intermediaries that Lyon were looking for.

However, sources confirmed to 90min that the offer had been turned down by Lyon, to the surprise of West Ham.

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But the Hammers have not been deterred by their initial offer being refused, and it’s now believed that a deal worth in excess of €50m is close to being agreed.

Sources close to the player have told 90min they are ‘confident’ that a deal is nearing, with head of recruitment Bruno Cheyrou previously admitting that offers would be considered on a ‘case-by-case’ basis and that Lyon needed to reduce the size of their squad.

Paqueta has impressed for Lyon during his two seasons at the club, contributing 15 goals and assists in 32 Ligue 1 appearances during 2021/22, and has 33 international caps to his name for Brazil.

His arrival could add some much-needed goalscoring firepower to West Ham’s midfield arsenal, with the club’s only goals this season coming in the Europa Conference League play-off first leg tie against Viborg FF.

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