West Ham want Manchester City midfielder as makeweight in Lucas Paqueta talks

West Ham United reportedly want Manchester City’s Cole Palmer as a makeweight in talks over a move for Lucas Paqueta. 

The 21-year-old is an academy product of the Citizens and has made huge progress in the last few years. 

He made 25 appearances last season and also scored against Arsenal in the Community Shield on Sunday. 

But the attacking midfielder could find limited opportunities at the Etihad Stadium with City looking to sign Paqueta this summer. 

Man City recently launched a £70 million bid to secure the services of the Brazilian. 

The Evening Standard now reports West Ham are looking to include Palmer in talks with Man City over a deal for the 25-year-old. 

Paqueta arrived in London from Lyon last summer for around £51m. He impressed with his displays for David Moyes’ side, making 41 appearances across all competitions. 

The attacking midfielder helped West Ham win the Europa Conference League, starting seven matches in the tournament including the final against Fiorentina. 

In addition to bagging four goals and three assists last term, the Brazil international also averaged 1.9 shots, 1.1 key passes and 1.2 dribbles per game. 

West Ham have already sold Declan Rice to Arsenal in a whopping £105m deal. 

Gianluca Scamacca has also left the London Stadium, joining Atalanta for an initial £22.5m fee.