West Ham deal for £34m star could 'move quickly' at London Stadium

West Ham are in pole position to sign Lyon star Lucas Paqueta, according to transfer insider Dean Jones.

The Hammers are working on a deal to bring the Brazilian to the Premier League, and Jones reckons they’re in the driving seat as things stand.

It’s generally been a frustrating window for West Ham, although that could quickly change if they manage to bring Paqueta to the London Stadium.

According to Sky Sports, the capital club made a €40m (£34m) bid for the 25-year-old, although the offer was knocked back by Lyon.

The Athletic have since claimed that talks are advancing over the fee and personal terms, but West Ham are yet to launch a second bid.

But Jones believes they’re in healthy position as they look to bolster their midfield options with the addition of the Lyon man.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “This one could move quite quickly. As it stands, it seems like West Ham are going to make another offer for Paqueta and they’re in a good position here because they’re the only club in live talks over the player.

“He’s obviously been rumoured to be joining other clubs but if anyone else comes in they’re going to have to play catch up at this point because West Ham are already quite far down the line.

“At the moment, I would say they will win the race, but we’ve seen this before. West Ham struggle to achieve the valuation that other clubs have on players, so let’s see whether this one ends up going that way too.”

David Moyes has been looking to bring in a creative midfielder since Jesse Lingard left at the end of the 2020-2021 season and Paqueta could be exactly what he needs.

The 33-cap Brazil international generally plays as a number 10, but he’s also played in a deeper midfield role more than 50 times in his career.

Paqueta