Manchester City could reportedly reignite their interest in West Ham United midfielder Lucas Paqueta during the January transfer window.
The Citizens have been strongly linked with the 25-year-old this month as Pep Guardiola looks to bolster his squad with a new midfielder following the departure of Ilkay Gundogan to Barcelona.
Man City were allegedly close to reaching an agreement with West Ham to sign Paqueta for around £80m, with the player having already agreed personal terms over a move to the Etihad Stadium.
However, a recent report claims that the treble winners have decided to walk away from negotiations with the Hammers amid a FIFA and Football Association betting investigation into the Brazil international.
The investigation began when a large number of bets were placed in Brazil on Paqueta receiving a yellow card in West Ham's 1-1 draw with Aston Villa in the Premier League in March, a game in which the midfielder received a booking in the 70th minute.
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Paqueta has subsequently been dropped from Fernando Diniz's 25-man Brazil squad ahead of next month's World Cup qualifiers against Bolivia and Peru so that he can "sort out his problems".
However, the midfielder, who has denied any wrongdoing, has started for West Ham in both of their opening two Premier League fixtures of the new season since the allegations surfaced, and he scored against Chelsea in a 3-1 home win on Sunday.
Although Paqueta looks set to stay with the Hammers this summer, sources have informed Sky Sports News that the Brazilian could still move to Man City in the January transfer window.
The Citizen have held an interest in Paqueta for some time and considered making a move for the midfielder before he joined West Ham last summer from Lyon for a club-record £51m.
Paqueta has contributed with six goals and seven assists in 43 games for West Ham across all competitions, and he helped the club win the Europa Conference League last season.
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West Ham's No.10 still has four years remaining on his contract at the London Stadium and he is understood to possess a £85m release clause that cannot be activated until the summer of 2024.
While the addition of a new midfielder remains high on Man City's agenda this summer, Guardiola is also keen to recruit a new winger and Rennes star Jeremy Doku appears to be nearing a move to the Etihad.
Indeed, the Citizens have allegedly reached an agreement with the Ligue 1 club to sign Doku for £55.5m, and the 21-year-old landed in the United Kingdom on Tuesday evening ahead of undergoing his medical.
Doku, who has already agreed personal terms, could become Man City's third signing of the summer transfer window after Croatian pair Mateo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol.
Oliver Thomas
