In the summer of 2022, Newcastle United fans were dreaming of signing Lucas Paqueta.
The Brazilian was the fantasy arrival for Toon supporters, who were extremely keen to see Bruno Guimaraes reunited with his best mate at St James’ Park.
There was talk of a move to Tyneside, with Newcastle reportedly willing to break their transfer record to get him. Eddie Howe even admitted himself that the club were interested in signing Paqueta.
However, it was West Ham who got him. They signed the Brazil international from Lyon for £51million.
A decent first year almost led to a move this summer, with Manchester City trying their best to bring him to the Etihad. But a deal ended up collapsing when it emerged that the 26-year-old was being investigated for alleged betting breaches.
That put an end to his Manchester City move, but last season’s treble winners were not the only club who considered signing the attacking midfielder during the 2023 summer transfer window.
Newcastle were interested in Lucas Paqueta
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has spoke to Caught Offside about Paqueta, and shared that Newcastle were once again interested in signing him back in May.
“Another deal that nearly happened this summer was Lucas Paqueta, who was targeted by Manchester City,” he said.
“Of course clubs are now waiting to see the end of the investigation story. Newcastle were also interested back in May, but then they never sent proposals as their focus was on Sandro Tonali.”
Newcastle bought Tonali instead
Wow. It would have been a huge shock if Newcastle had signed Paqueta this year, having missed out in 2022.
The Magpies were interested in attacking midfielders at the start of the summer, with James Maddison and Dominik Szoboszlai heavily linked with moves to St James’ Park. However, the club decided that neither player was essential.
You have to imagine that they had the same view on Paqueta, who operates in a similar way to the duo mentioned above.
Instead, Newcastle went all out to get Sandro Tonali, who became the club’s second most expensive signing ever.
He is already a fan favourite on Tyneside, and his transfer really shocked the football world. However, Toon fans probably would have been more shocked if Paqueta had arrived from West Ham.