Tottenham Hotspur: Dharmesh Sheth believes Lucas Paqueta links are agent-driven

Sky Sports News reporter Dharmesh Sheth believes rumours linking Tottenham with a move for Lucas Paqueta has been driven by his agent.

Reports in France have claimed that Spurs are the frontrunners to land the Lyon playmaker this summer with the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium seen as the ‘most credible’ option in terms of a move (L’Equipe (via GFFN).

It was thought that the Ligue 1 outfit would demand £68m for the Brazilian maestro but it is now being reported that an offer of £33m plus add-ons would be enough to persuade Paqueta’s current employers to sanction his exit with Newcastle also credited with an interest.

However, Sheth isn’t convinced by the emerging news and can’t foresee a move materialising throughout the remainder of the transfer window.

Speaking on the Last Word on Spurs podcast he said:

“There’s been a lot of talk with Paqueta. I think a lot of it is quite agent-driven; this is the information we get when we put names like this to clubs.

“So sometimes, you get a situation in a transfer window where you hear that the club is interested, but what has actually happened is that a player might have been offered to a club – so not necessarily the interest being driven by the club itself.

“So anything that I’m hearing and reading like yourselves with regard to Newcastle and Tottenham, what I have been hearing is that it might have been pushed from the agent’s side rather than going from the other side.”

TIF Thoughts on Paqueta and Spurs…

Paqueta – who has been hailed as a potential ‘huge signing’ – produced 11 goals and seven assists last season and would be a very creative option for the club to explore which is an area where Fabio Paratici has been tipped to explore in the remaining weeks of the window.

Being able to play out wide could also be another major selling point for the £49k-per-week ace and while Sheth may seem to think the links are coming from the player side, the fact that he ranks in the top 1% among attacking midfielders and wingers for tackles per 90 and in the top 9% for shots per game (FBref) could persuade the Lilywhites to take his representatives up on their offer.