Report: West Ham now could sign 23-year-old Newcastle target to replace Lucas Paqueta
Former Newcastle United target and Bruno Guimaraes’ close friend Lucas Paqueta could be on his way out of West Ham after just one year.
The Brazil international was a major target for Newcastle last summer, but joined West Ham instead for £51million.
Now he could be on the move again, with Manchester City making a move. Pep Guardiola’s side are looking to bring Paqueta to the Etihad, with West Ham facing up to the prospect of losing another key player during this summer’s transfer market.
They have already lost Declan Rice, and have replaced him with long-term Toon target Edson Alvarez. Next they are going to need a Paqueta replacement, and are eyeing up another player who has been on Newcastle’s radar.
West Ham ask Ajax about Newcastle target Mohammed Kudus
According to Sky Sports, West Ham have launched an enquiry to sign Ajax forward Mohammed Kudus.
The report states that the Hammers are ‘doing due diligence’ in case Paqueta leaves the club. Sky add that Kudus is a target for four Premier League clubs, one of which is Brighton.
The others are not named, but Kudus is a player who has been linked with Newcastle as recently as May. It was reported that Eddie Howe’s side were tracking the Ghana international.
Kudus looks absolutely destined for a move to the Premier League, but his destination is unclear. Brighton did appear to be favourites, but interest from West Ham could change that.
While Newcastle have targeted him in the past, it would be a huge surprise to see the Magpies make a move for the 23-year-old. Howe is more focussed on defensive reinforcements, with talk of deals for a left-back and a centre-back.
That could see Toon target Kudus head elsewhere, and potentially replace another player who Newcastle were eager to sign 12 months ago.
We missed out on Paqueta, and the fact he could now be on his way to Man City shows just how good he is. Now he could be replaced by Kudus, who would also be a great fit at St James’ Park. Alas, it looks like he will soon be an opposition player on Tyneside.
If Kudus does make the move to West Ham, it is going to be really interesting to see how he gets on, and whether or not he really would have been ideal for Howe’s Magpies.
