If things had been different, then Man City could well have been lining up in their next fixture with a new £85m summer signing on show.
Pep Guardiola’s side, hit with injuries to the likes of John Stones and Kevin De Bruyne, still appear keen to strengthen their squad, despite being streets ahead of the competition.
According to the Daily Mail, the reigning Premier League champions had actually agreed a deal in principle with West Ham United to sign Brazilian midfielder, Lucas Paqueta.
The player himself was believed to be keen to move north, and though the Hammers may not have initially wanted to sell, it was clear that they couldn’t turn down the money being offered by the Cityzens.
That was before the Football Association scuppered any notion of a move in the current transfer window.
Alleged betting malpractice that potentially links to the player has meant that any deal has stalled and, all the while an investigation continues, Paqueta will remain at West Ham.
What that means of course is that the player has missed out on a bumper pay rise, and the east Londoners don’t have almost another £100m to spend on players that can strengthen their squad in other areas.
If the outcome of the investigation is that Paqueta is innocent of all charges, it will be interesting to see if City come back in for him at a later stage.
Greedy relatives / friends opening accounts and betting once on a very specific incident which then occurs at the precise moment indicated on the betting form. A pile of poo, a puppy dog draw your own conclusions.
Amazing that this alleged offence(s) came to light, right in the middle of a major transfer … :-O