Manchester City could put their pursuit of West Ham United midfielder Lucas Paqueta on ice as they look to land an alternative target at the Etihad Stadium, according to a report.

Manchester City transfer updates…

With the January window approaching, Manchester City are likely to enter the market for reinforcements as Pep Guardiola continues to add to his well-oiled machine to make sure they are in a competitive position to battle for glory on both domestic and European fronts.

Largely, summer signings Jeremy Doku, Matheus Nunes, Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic have complemented their new teammates in a fairly seamless fashion, leaving the Cityzens just a point off the top of the Premier League table with 13 games played.

Nevertheless, further arrivals are always likely on the blue half of Manchester and the Sky Blues are now embroiled in a battle with Manchester United, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid for the signature of Palmeiras wonderkid Estevao Willian, according to a recent report from TEAMtalk.

The youngster has a £47 million release clause inserted into his current deal at the Brazilian giants; however, it is unlikely that his interested suitors will have to activate the full amount to enter negotiations over a potentially life-changing move for the 16-year-old.

AC Milan attacker Rafael Leao is also reported target for Manchester City and they would be willing to pay a fee in the region of £129 million to tempt the Portugal international to the North West. If Leao were to join, questions would start to circulate regarding the future of Jack Grealish at the Etihad Stadium, though we will need to wait and see on that front.

In other news, the Blues could ditch their pursuit of another well-known target amid problems in negotiations, as per a fresh report.

Manchester City could now abandon Paqueta pursuit

According to FootballTransfers, Manchester City could pull out of their pursuit of West Ham United playmaker Lucas Paqueta and instead swoop for Bayern Munich star Serge Gnabry.

Serge Gnabry in 2023/24 – all competitions (Transfermarkt)

Appearances

10

Goals

1

Assists

0

Brazil international Paqueta is still a player whom the Sky Blues admire; however, they remain non-committal over a deal to bring him to the Etihad Stadium while gambling issues surrounding the 26-year-old remain unresolved. Gnabry has emerged as another serious candidate to add some extra verve in attack for Guardiola's men despite personal terms being agreed between Manchester City and the former.

Labelled "phenomenal" by Rio Ferdinand on BT Sport, cited via The Daily Mail in 2020, Gnabry, who earns around £247,000 per week at Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, has offered plenty of innovation in attack this term for his current employers, averaging around 2.5 shots and 1.3 key passes per fixture in the German top-flight (Gnabry statistics – WhoScored).

Despite this, the Germany international may feel a new challenge is in the offing as he enters the prime of his career and Manchester City would be an exciting destination to prove his worth in England following previous spells in the Premier League with Arsenal and West Bromwich Albion.

Man City willing to submit £129m offer for "difference-maker" in January

The Blues are considering tabling a huge bid to bring the attacker to the Etihad.

ByChloe Chadwick