West Ham United look all but certain to lose Lucas Paqueta this summer as Manchester City eye replacements for Bernardo Silva.The treble winners wanted to sign the Brazilian last summer but stepped back from a deal when he was hit with betting related charges by the FA, which are still unsettled.It then emerged that Paqueta has an £85m release clause in his Hammers contract that becomes active in the summer of 2024, which has led to speculation that Pep Guardiola is ready to come back in with a fresh attempt to take him to the Etihad Stadium.But Fabrizio Romano has now shared news that means that attempt is almost inevitable, as City look set to lose one of their own attacking stars this summer.According to the reliable transfer journalist, Bernardo has a £50m release clause in his contract which also becomes active this summer after they convinced him to stick around last year amid interest from PSG and Barcelona.Silva is regarded as one of the very best in the world so with such a low fee being needed, it seems sure that his exit will take place.West Ham’s Paqueta perfect to replace Bernardo SilvaThere’s no doubting that Lucas Paqueta is a fantastic footballer and could quite easily walk into the Etihad and be an integral member of the Man City team.£85m is a lot of money, even in today’s market, but when you’re going to get a world class footballer in return for it, it makes it a little bit easier to swallow.On top of that, if Man City are going to claim £50m of that back from selling Bernardo Silva it makes it a very realistic option for both clubs.West Ham have already begun putting together a shortlist of replacements in case of his exit, and it seems like it will come in handy now.
