Man Utd Tipped To Complete incredible Swap deal ahead of Man city For £80m West Ham and Brazilian Superstar

Man Utd Tipped To Complete incredible Swap deal ahead of Man city For £80m West Ham and Brazilian Superstar

Man Utd centre-back Harry Maguire and West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta
Man Utd could include Harry Maguire as bait to help land Man City target Lucas Paqueta

Manchester United could include Harry Maguire in a cash-plus-player bid for West Ham ace and confirmed Manchester City target, Lucas Paqueta, though there is one glaringly obvious barrier to a move, according to multiple reports.

The futures of Maguire and Paqueta both looked like they would lay away from their current clubs last summer. Man Utd and West Ham struck an agreement worth £30m for the transfer of Maguire last August.

Maguire was seen as surplus to requirements at Old Trafford, though is rated highly by Hammers boss David Moyes.

However, the move broke down when Maguire refused to negotiate personal terms with West Ham. The player did not wish to leave the Red Devils, forcing West Ham to move for back-up target Konstantinos Mavropanos instead.

Paqueta, meanwhile, was also the subject of a transfer agreement, this time involving Man City.

The treble winners agreed to cough up £80m for the classy Brazil international who also wasted no time agreeing personal terms with City.

However, an FA probe into Paqueta and alleged betting regulation breaches laid waste to the move. City backed off and instead moved for Matheus Nunes of Wolves, while the Paqueta probe is still unresolved to this day.

However, according to ESPN, Man City are fully expected to reignite their interest in Paqueta this summer. The 26-year-old is viewed as a worthy successor to Bernardo Silva who after years of speculation, could finally take his leave from the Etihad.

Silva’s current City deal – signed last summer – contains a release clause worth £50m. PSG are long-term admirers and will have cash to splash once Kylian Mbappe’s colossal salary is off the books. Mbappe will join Real Madrid as a free agent at season’s end.

But according to the Daily Express, Man Utd could land a bitter blow on near neighbours Man City by snatching Paqueta from their grasp.

Maguire plus £65m for Paqueta?
Their report states Man Utd could leverage West Ham’s interest in Maguire and include the 31-year-old as bait to lure Paqueta the other way.

According to the Sun’s Alan Nixon, West Ham’s interest in Maguire has not gone away and a second attempt to sign the England international is being considered for the summer. Per Nixon, West Ham believe a cut-price bid of £15m should do the trick.

Maguire will have just one year remaining on his Man Utd deal come the summer. The club do hold an option for an extra year, though given Maguire is no longer a regular starter, there’s doubts as to whether United have any desire to trigger it.

If they don’t, an exit in a few months’ time would make sense. Factoring in West Ham’s £15m valuation of Maguire and the £80m deal struck between City and West Ham last summer, a cash-plus-player bid involving £65m and Maguire could swing a Paqueta deal Man Utd’s way.

Of course, there is one rather obvious hurdle that must be overcome and that’s convincing Maguire to join the Hammers.

The defender snubbed the chance to join Moyes’ men last summer and if does the same one year on, Man Utd will lose their transfer advantage over Man City.