Newcastle United are reportedly considering whether to make a bid for West Ham United midfielder Lucas Paqueta in January.
Last month, Manchester City were heavily linked with an approach for the Brazil international as they bid to add a fresh face for the centre of the pitch.
However, a potential switch to the Etihad Stadium ended up being scrapped, a consequence of the player becoming involved in an investigation for possible breaches of betting regulations with the Football Association.
Paqueta has since continued to represent West Ham in the Premier League, starting each of the club's five matches during the 2023-24 campaign.
Unless City return with an offer in January, the perception is that the 26-year-old will remain at the London Stadium until at least the end of the season.
Nevertheless, according to Fichajes, Paqueta has admirers in Newcastle who may contemplate a big-money offer in January.
The report suggests that Eddie Howe is eager to add more quality to his midfield ranks, despite the signing of Sandro Tonali from AC Milan.
Newcastle are about to embark on trying to cope with the challenge of managing a schedule that includes Premier League and Champions League football.
Three days ahead of a fixture with AC Milan at San Siro, Howe handed a rare top-flight start to Elliot Anderson for the 1-0 win over Brentford on Saturday.
That move was in part to protect an injury issue for Tonali, yet it highlighted the lack of big-game experience in the engine room when Newcastle do not use their first-choice XI.
Newcastle would allegedly look to pay in the region of €60m (£51.7m) for Paqueta, an offer which would likely be rejected out of hand on the basis of the stance that West Ham took with Man City's bids in the summer.
Paqueta is also due to have a release clause of £85m become active in his contract from June 2024, and club officials are expected to insist on that figure being met by any interested parties.
The former Lyon man is also on terms until 2027, leaving West Ham in a strong position to repel any offers - particularly ones lower than what they received in the summer - from clubs who they will consider to be a rival given that they currently sit four points ahead of Newcastle in the Premier League table. body check tags ::
