Manchester City have reportedly made a staggering £70 million proposal to West Ham for their Brazilian international midfielder Lucas Paqueta.

The Premier League champions remain on the search for fresh recruits this summer, even following their £78 million signing of Josko Gvardiol over the course of the weekend, and the £25 million arrival of Mateo Kovacic several weeks ago.

The departure of Riyad Mahrez for Al Ahli in Saudi Arabia has meant that Manchester City will look to either recruit out wide, add to their central midfield options, or even convert the likes of Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden into mainstay right-wingers.

That search has now led them to a new name in the Premier League, as several sources from within Europe and in Brazil have now confirmed an interest from Manchester City in a player that is understood to have been monitored by Etihad chiefs for a number of years.

As first reported Marco Conterio of TuttoMercatoWeb, and confirmed by Brazilian outlet Globo Esporte, Manchester City have submitted a proposal worth £70 million for West Ham and Brazil midfielder Lucas Paqueta.

The news was confirmed shortly after talkSPORT revealed that Manchester City was interested in the 25-year-old central midfielder, despite the fact that it was made obvious that the Hammers would be unwilling to part with one of their most important players.

After speaking with West Ham this week, transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano has also revealed that Manchester City is now really interested in Lucas Paquetá. Although it won’t be an easy negotiation, City has added Paquetá to its list of summer targets.

In the next weeks, it is anticipated and increasingly believed that Manchester City will be successful in re-signing some of their present first-team stars to better contracts in addition to adding new players.

Kyle Walker is believed to have decided to stay at Manchester City despite recent heavy interest from Bayern Munich. Manchester City will also be hopeful that the England international full-back extends his contract beyond the conclusion of the 2023–24 season.

Although the Portugal international has been considering moving for several seasons in a row, Bernardo Silva is also said to be seriously considering renewing his contract with Manchester City.

On Friday night, Man City’s brand-new 2023–24 Premier League campaign gets begin when Pep Guardiola and his team visit Burnley, a newly promoted team led by City great Vincent Kompany.