A new name has emerged in Tottenham Hotspur's transfer plans this summer...
What's the word?
According to Alasdair Gold of football.london, Spurs have been tracking Lyon midfielder Lucas Paqueta, who Premier League rivals Newcastle United tried to sign earlier this year.
It remains to be seen how much the Brazil international would command, given how much of a regular he was for the Ligue 1 outfit last season.
Transfermarkt currently value the 24-year-old star at £31.5m, whilst he is thought to be earning wages in the region of £49k-per-week at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais.
AC Milan will be due 15% of any sale due to an agreement in the €20m (£18m) deal to sell him.
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Frightening midfield unit
The arrival of Paqueta in north London would be quite the coup and could allow manager Antonio Conte to form one of the better midfield departments in the English top-flight.
During the 2021/22 campaign, the Lyon star delivered a total of 11 goals and seven assists from attacking midfield across both domestic and European competitions.
As such, WhoScored graded him as L'OL's highest-rated player (7.24), whilst as per FBref, he ranks inside the top 6% for progressive passes (9.25 per 90), top 9% for shots (3.06 per 90) and top 12% for non-penalty xG+A (0.59 per 90) of his positional peers across Europe's top five divisions.
"I love his dribbling and blind passing, but what I love is his desire, his activity, his selflessness, his commitment," once claimed former Premier League talisman Thierry Henry.
With similar workmanlike players such as Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Oliver Skipp and Rodrigo Bentancur, Paqueta could fit right in to make Spurs' engine room one to be feared every week.
Meanwhile, teammate Jerome Boateng has also waxed lyrical about the Brazilian's exploits, declaring:
"He brings so much to our team. He's running a lot, his skills of course, his technique, his creating chances, his passing, his fighting for the ball, he helps us a lot. And I think he has a big potential to be really a world star in football."
As such, sporting director Fabio Paratici must look to swoop for the Lyon playmaker in the coming months. He'd be a fine addition to Conte's squad heading into a Champions League campaign.
AND in other news, Paratici now eyeing £18m-rated Spurs bargain, could be bye-bye "horrendous" Nuno flop...