Paqueta

Lucas Paqueta wants to leave West Ham, Tottenham are keen on Scott McTominay, and Napoli will make another attempt to sign Kobbie Mainoo.

Brazil midfielder Lucas Paqueta, 28, is keen to leave West Ham in January. (Times – subscription required), external

Tottenham are keen on signing 28-year-old Scotland midfielder Scott McTominay from Napoli. (Teamtalk), external

Napoli will make another attempt to sign 20-year-old England midfielder Kobbie Mainoo from Manchester United in January. (Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian), external

Manchester City have opened negotiations with Spain defensive midfielder Rodri, 29, over a new contract and are confident of striking a deal by the end of the year. (TBR Football, external)

Tottenham are unlikely to sign Marc-Andre ter Stegen from Barcelona in January, but a loan move to Chelsea could be possible for the Germany goalkeeper, 33. (Teamtalk), external

Chelsea and Tottenham showed serious interest in Morgan Rogers, 23, during the summer but Aston Villa are currently holding talks with the England attacking midfielder over a new contract. (Fabrizio Romano, external)

Fabio Carvalho will leave Brentford in January, with a permanent move being considered for the 23-year-old Portuguese winger. (Florian Plettenberg), external

Sunderland are plotting another loan move for Marc Guiu in January after Chelsea recalled the 19-year-old Spanish striker just two games into a loan move they agreed last summer. (Football Transfers), external

Chelsea are looking to strengthen at right-back with the addition of Strasbourg’s Guela Doue, though Aston Villa and Brighton are also in the race for the 23-year-old Ivory Coast defender. (Football Transfers), external

Liverpool are among the clubs considering a move for Club Brugge’s Joel Ordonez, with Newcastle and Aston Villa also in the race to sign the 21-year-old Ecuador centre-back. (Ekrem Konur), external

Manchester United are in negotiations over a transfer for AIK’s 16-year-old Swedish forward Kevin Filling. (Florian Plettenberg), external

Robbie Keane, Kieran McKenna and Ange Postecoglou are all on the shortlist to succeed Brendan Rodgers as the next permanent Celtic manager. (Telegraph – subscription required), external

The Football Association will not appeal against the decision to clear West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta of four spot-fixing charges.

An independent regulatory commission hearing, which took place following an FA investigation, found four charges to be “not proven”.

The written reasons detailing the commission’s finding were published on Wednesday.

“The FA is committed to ensuring that the integrity of football is maintained, and full and thorough investigations will always be conducted into serious allegations of rule breaches,” said English football’s governing body., external

The FA started its investigation in August 2023 and the Brazil international was charged in May last year for allegedly getting booked deliberately “for the improper purpose of affecting the betting market”.

The four charges against him related to a Premier League game against Leicester City on 12 November 2022, as well as 2023 fixtures against Aston Villa on 12 March, Leeds United on 21 May and Bournemouth on 12 August.

Paqueta was also charged with two counts of failing to co-operate with the investigation after breaching “FA Rule F3 in respect of alleged failures to comply pursuant to FA Rule F2”, which relates to providing information and documents.

He also denied these charges, but the regulatory commission found them to be proven.

“The regulatory commission will decide an appropriate sanction for the breaches of FA Rule F3 that were found proven and the details will be published at the earliest opportunity,” added the FA.

Paqueta joined the Hammers from Lyon for an initial £36.5m in August 2022 and helped the club win the Europa Conference League during his debut season.

“But the news is incredibly positive. If it had gone the other way, there would have been a whole other line of questions.

“Lucas is happy and committed. He is an important person in dressing room and at the club and we love him. We just want to help him enjoy his football.

“You can imagine on a personal level for him, having to fight those allegations was an incredible challenge for him. It has been a really tough period in his life and career.

“It is a credit to him and his family and everyone who has supported him that he has come through.”

As the written reasons are yet to be published, it is still not known whether Paqueta will take legal action against the FA.

Meanwhile, Antonio looks to be surplus to Potter’s plans.

Asked whether the 35-year-old would be part of his squad for the forthcoming campaign following the signing of another veteran frontman – and Antonio’s former podcast partner – Callum Wilson on a free transfer, Potter said simply: “No.”

Last month, the club said no formal decision had been made on the player whose contract expired at the end of the month.

“As a long-serving, highly-respected player, and a much-loved member of the West Ham family, the club’s absolute priority at this time is to support Michail personally in his journey to resume playing at the highest level,” said a statement.

There had been no update on that prior to Potter’s answer.

Having recovered from his horrific car crash in December, Antonio made a playing return for Jamaica during this summer’s Concacaf Gold Cup.

He joined West Ham from Nottingham Forest for an undisclosed fee, reported to be £7m, in 2015 and is the club’s record Premier League goalscorer, scoring 68 goals in 268 top-flight appearances.

He was in tears after was he booked against Tottenham two weeks ago, after which Potter said he was “frustrated” and had “given everything and in difficult circumstances”.

Later that evening Paqueta’s wife Maria Fournier said in an Instagram post that they had “been living this nightmare for two years”.

Paqueta was left on the bench for last weekend’s 2-0 win at Manchester United, which Potter said was because he had a cold.

“It has taken its toll on him. The week he had was a particularly tough week for him personally,” Potter said.

“As a result of that he was feeling under the weather on the day before the game and the day of the game, so I didn’t want to risk him and make it worse for him.

“Sometimes stress, pressure, can manifest itself in a different way.

“Generally he’s come in and conducted himself in a really good way. He’s handled it really well.”

Potter said he is keen for the case to be resolved before the start of next season.

“It’s not my thing to talk about, but the sooner the better for everyone,” he said.

LUCAS PAQUETA is getting ill and feeling stressed by the delay to his spot-fixing probe.

And West Ham boss Graham Potter wants the FA to resolve his case before next season so the club know if he will be part of a rebuild.

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In May 2024, the Brazilian playmaker, 27, was charged with four counts of spot-fixing and two of obstructing an FA investigation.

This followed allegations he intentionally got a yellow card for betting purposes in four Prem games between November 2022 and August 2023.

The club say they have NO idea when the findings of this will be revealed, so do not know if he will be banned for life or found not guilty.

Being in limbo is taking its toll on Paqueta, who denies any wrongdoing, and he broke down in tears of frustration after being booked in the 1-1 draw with Tottenham on May 4.

Today’s clash against seventh-placed Nottingham Forest is the Hammers’ final home match of the season and it could be the last time he ever dons the claret-and-blue colours.

He was an unused sub against Manchester United last week with a  cold.

Potter said: “The week he had was  particularly tough  for him personally, which I think everybody can  understand.

“And then, as a result of that, he was feeling under the weather on the day before the game at Manchester United and during the game.

“So I didn’t want to risk him and make it worse for him. But he’s trained really well, he wants to be part of the team to help and we’ll see how to use him for the weekend.”

When he broke down in tears against Spurs, wife Duda Fournier took to Instagram to express her concerns about her husband’s mental state.

She said: “My husband has a posture and a strength that I admire and impresses me. We have been living this nightmare for two years.”

Asked if the situation was taking  its toll on Paqueta, Potter replied: “Obviously, you know what it’s like, sometimes you are in stress and  pressure, it can manifest itself in a different way.”

Asked if he wants clarity by the start of next season, Potter said: “For everybody concerned, yes. The sooner the better for everyone.

“In fairness to Lucas, he’s handled it brilliantly. Generally he’s come in and conducted himself in a really good way. He’s just ready to help the team.

“I think coming into work is a  distraction for him. It takes his mind off things.

“For me, I’m just there to support him, the same with his team-mates.”

The FA declined to comment when approached by SunSport.

It will be an emotional afternoon in East London also for the likes of Aaron Cresswell, Lukasz Fabianski, Vladimir Coufal and Danny Ings.

The quartet, who were part of the 2023  Conference League-winning squad, have not been offered new contracts and will leave this summer.

Czech defender Coufal, 32, joined in 2020 from Slavia Prague.

And in a message to Hammers fans, he said: “I knew that once this time would come but I could not imagine how emotional it would be for me and my family.

“I can say with all honesty in my heart that I enjoyed every minute of being at West Ham. I am taking a lot of unforgettable memories with me.” 

Yet there are NO guarantees any of them will play a role today and be given a proper send-off as Potter is eyeing up a possible 13th-place finish.

He added: “There’s a lot at stake in the Premier League in terms of our points and what Forest are fighting for, so we have to make sure we pick the right team to try to win.

“Of course, emotion is always part of football so that can help. But we have to make the decision based on everything to try to win.”