Lucas Paqueta bombshell at West Ham as Aston Villa open eleventh-hour negotiations
Aston Villa have begun talks with West Ham over a last-gasp swoop for Lucas Paqueta.
Villa have been strongly linked to Paqueta in the past week as the transfer window moves ever closer to the 1 September deadline at Villa Park.
This comes as an Aston Villa return for Marco Asensio continues to drag on without Unai Emery getting a deal over the line at this stage.
With that in mind, a swoop for Paqueta could benefit the Villans as the need for attacking depth only grows as the days pass at Villa Park.
Villa have already made an offer for Paqueta, and that now looks to have had a telling impact on the Hammers as talks look set to begin.
Aston Villa in race for Lucas Paqueta signing
As it stands, West Ham are demanding £60million for Paqueta from Villa, but it is highly unlikely that Villa will have the capability to spend that much this summer.
With that being said, a loan move with an option has been assessed by the Villans, with the hope of a deal progressing in the final days of the window.
As exciting as that could prove to be, it seems that an agreement with Graham Potter’s side is going to be increasingly difficult before the 1 September transfer deadline.
| Stat | Lucas Paqueta |
| Appearances | 123 |
| Goals | 20 |
| Assists | 14 |
Even with that being the case, it does appear as if the whispers of a transfer are having a telling impact on the Irons’ squad right now.
This comes after Santi Aouna reported on 30 August that Paqueta hasn’t travelled with the West Ham squad ready to face Nottingham Forest on 31 August.
The East London club have now opened talks with Villa over the attacking midfielder, having already turned down a proposal from Tottenham.
Radio silence from West Ham on Lucas Paqueta situation
Villa News have reached out to West Ham to clarify whether Paqueta will travel alongside his teammates to face Nottingham Forest.
There has been no reply from the Hammers at the time of writing.
Without an update from the London Stadium, the general noise around Paqueta leans into the idea that he will be absent at the City Ground.
If that is to be the case, it will be music to the Villans’ ears moving into the final days of the window as they look to land much-needed signings.
There is no getting away from how excellent the Brazilian could prove to be in B6, but the deal has to be right to suit all parties, that is where the difficulty will lie.
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