Newcastle United have a long-standing interest in Lyon midfielder Lucas Paqueta, but there’s nothing advanced on the player’s future just yet.
That’s the latest on the Paqueta transfer situation from Fabrizio Romano’s exclusive CaughtOffside column, though he adds that there could be significant developments to decide the Brazilian’s future in the next few weeks.
Romano says that Newcastle were interested in Paqueta in January, but adds that it could be a slightly complicated deal for clubs to get done.
“There are no advanced negotiations for Lucas Paqueta so far,” Romano says. “There are still no offers up that meet Lyon’s demands for the player.
“Newcastle were already interested in January, but we have to wait for further progress. I believe that Paqueta’s future can be decided in the coming weeks – but it’s not an easy case, because his former club AC Milan are entitled to 15% on the future sale of the Brazilian and Lyon do not want to make a mistake with Paqueta.”
Will Newcastle raid Lyon again for the transfer of Paqueta?
Newcastle signed fellow Brazilian midfielder Bruno Guimaraes from Lyon in January and it could be good business for the Magpies to raid the Ligue 1 giants again.
Paqueta looks another fine talent who could fit in well in Eddie Howe’s side, and the club’s wealthy Saudi owners surely have the resources to tempt Lyon into a sale.
As Romano says, this doesn’t look like a particularly straightforward deal, but it is worth noting that Lyon do tend to cash in on their star players when big clubs come calling.
Alexandre Lacazette, Nabil Fekir and Tanguy Ndombele are just some of the big names the French side have sold in recent years, as well as the aforementioned Guimaraes.