Lucas Paqueta's move to Manchester City failed. Photo: Getty Images/Henry Browne. Telegraph Sport understands that it could potentially face an investigation by the Football Association over possible gambling charges.
The fear of being charged and possibly banned from the game is believed to have triggered the end of Manchester City's interest. in a player in what was to be an £85m deal for the attacking midfielder.
When contacted, West Ham did not deny the existence of the FA investigation. The club declined to comment on this issue. The FA also chose not to comment.
It is not yet clear to what extent the possible violations of gambling regulation by the Packages have reached. Football players and managers are prohibited from gambling in any form, including through third parties.
In May, Brentford striker Ivan Toni was suspended for eight months and fined £50,000 for admitting 232 FA betting violations. Among these violations, he made 13 bets against the clubs he was registered with at the time and will not play again until 16 January.
In hearings earlier this year to determine the tariff for Tony's punishment, the FA pushed for the ban to go into effect at the start of the current season. The independent commission that considered the case rejected this. However, it demonstrated the seriousness with which the FA takes violations of the rules of gambling.
The governing body states that ensuring that players and active participants in football do not participate in gambling is directly related to protecting integrity sports, and that violations should be punished severely.
Players at the General Levels of Professional Gaming go through seminars to educate them about the gambling ban for members. At the hearing, Tony admitted that the FA visited Peterborough United when he was a player there to remind the team that gambling in the game is prohibited for active footballers.
Paqueta was the club's record-breaking £51m signing for West Ham last summer from French club Lyon and after a slow start in English football, he has had a big impact on West Ham's season. It was his pass to Jarrod Bowen, who scored the winning goal in the UEFA Conference League final in June. The 25-year-old has made 42 caps for Brazil and was part of the team that won the 2019 Copa América.
Manchester City declined to comment.
The Telegraph Sports Analysis What options do Pep Guardiola have after Paquet's deal fails?
Mike McGrath
As Manchester City's experience over the past seven years has shown, finding transfer targets for Pep Guardiola's system is not easy. Putting someone who can fit in right away is almost impossible. In Lucas Paquet they have found a player who will strengthen their team, even if it takes time to get used to.
What Guardiola is looking for is a sweet spot in his squad that will see mostly first team players on bench in every round of Premier League and Champions League games, complemented by talented youngsters who will also play in the League Cup. There was room for one more and there were talks with West Ham about the Package until the deal was put on hold due to concerns about the FA and FIFA betting investigation.
This leaves Guardiola in the position of having to find the best solution to replace Kevin De Bruyne, who could be out until February due to a hamstring injury he suffered on the opening day of the season. On Friday evening, De Bruyne posted a short post on social media after the operation with a photo of him on crutches.
The news after the Burnley game was really shocking. a big blow to me physically and mentally. Now the surgery is done, I'm ready to heal my body and get back to work soon. Thank you all for your support👍 pic.twitter.com/dULTfmSTdr
— Kevin De Bruyne (@KevinDeBruyne) August 18, 2023
Manchester City manager is looking for a contract but there are not enough players to play under him.
In the short term, he will be looking at his current squad to fill the gap, starting with this weekend's game against Newcastle. Phil Foden can move from the flanks and play in the center, Jack Grealish did it at Aston Villa, and Bernardo Silva can play in any midfield position in Guardiola's system. Meanwhile, James McAtee has yet to be loaned out despite interest from the English club this week.
De Bruyne is promoting City not only as a central midfielder but also as a playmaker. Guardiola will miss the way he leads his team's games and also creates chances for Erling Haaland with his passing range.
“When we enter the market we should not replace Kevin de Bruyne as he will be back in January or February and will be with us next season,” Guardiola said. «It's not a copy and paste to replace it, but we might need it.
“I think I like a small squad. But Kevin's punch changes perspective. He is a very important player, and it is not one or two weeks. It's four or five months old, he's 32 years old and needs to be physically because of the way he plays physically. So we need to think a bit about the squad and think about what we have to do.”
Chelsea spent the most last week on defensive midfielders, where Guardiola is well-equipped with Rodri. his first choice, the arrival of Mateo Kovacic, and Calvin Phillips decided to stay at the Etihad Stadium to succeed in his move to City.
In addition, there are not many available players on the transfer market, now the deal with the Package seems to be cancelled. Marco Verratti is not in favor with Paris Saint-Germain, but is associated with Saudi Arabia. Spanish midfielder Dani Olmo of Red Bull Leipzig was followed by major European clubs during his three years in the Bundesliga.
“You would kill me if we were spending money like Chelsea
Guardiola also insisted that City would not charge players for transfer fees, having shown discipline in the market to walk away from targets when they do not represent good value for money. He thinks City's spending on Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia this week, just like Chelsea, will get more scrutiny.
«Chelsea are definitely easier than us!» He said. “I couldn’t sit here if we spent what Chelsea spent in the last two transfer windows – you would have killed me. You will kill me, that's for sure. We will be under scrutiny like you can't imagine.
“We need to see what's going on in the market and if we can do it, and pay what we think is fair. We wanted [Harry] Maguire and didn't buy him because we didn't want to pay, we wanted [Mark] Cucurella and didn't pay, we wanted Alexis Sanchez and didn't pay. In the end, we will pay what is fair to do this. Otherwise, we have an academy.”
After seven years in English football, Guardiola is unlikely to panic at the end of this window. He needs a winger and Rennes' Jeremy Doku is the target, but finding someone like Paqueta is a race against time.
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