West Ham are in “advanced talks” to sign Manchester City target Lucas Paqueta, according to the Daily Mail.

Pep Guardiola’s side, Arsenal and Tottenham have all been mentioned as potential suitors for the Brazilian internationalr, but it seems the Hammers have stolen a march on their rivals by making a £33.7m (€40m) bid for the player.

Paqueta performed well for Lyon last season, scoring 11 goals in 44 appearances, and he had been touted as a possible replacement for Bernardo Silva.

However, the Portuguese midfielder spoke out at the weekend to declare that he wants to remain at the Etihad Stadium. Barcelona have been pursuing the player all summer but City have no intention of letting him leave, unless a huge bid is tabled.

Silva’s decision means that the Premier League champions won’t get involved in the battle for Paqueta’s signature. From the looks of things, it appears that West Ham are the favourites to snap him up at the moment.