Manchester City have turned their attention to Serge Gnabry of Bayern Munich after cooling their interest in West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta, according to a report.
Man City came close to signing Paqueta in the summer, but put the brakes on their pursuit after the FA began investigating the Brazil international in relation to a betting probe.
Paqueta has been playing as usual for West Ham ever since, though there have been claims that Man City could come back in with a new bid for him.
Now, though, FootballTransfers has revealed that Man City have started to shift their attention towards an alternative deal for a player with different characteristics.
Still hesitant about Paqueta, the Premier League champions have instead been linked with Bayern winger Gnabry.
According to the report, Man City have ‘significant interest’ in the Germany international and could start pursuing him ‘more seriously’ now they have put the Paqueta idea to one side.
That is despite Paqueta and Gnabry occupying different roles, since the West Ham player operates more centrally than the Bayern man usually does.
Gnabry is under contract with Bayern until 2026 and has 228 appearances, 82 goals and 51 assists for the club to his name so far.
He previously played in the Premier League on a handful of occasions for Arsenal at the start of his career, as well as in an infamously disastrous loan spell with West Bromwich Albion.
Since returning to his country of birth, Gnabry has made a mockery of what happened in his previous spell in English football, establishing himself as a high-quality, Champions League-level player.
Gnabry just getting going this season
This season has been a bit stop-start for him so far. His 10 appearances across all competitions have been spread either side of hip problems, a forearm fracture and illness.
However, at the age of 28, Gnabry is still an exciting player when in full flow, so it is no wonder that a team as ambitious as the reigning treble winners might be keen on him.
On the wings, Man City have been impressed by summer signing Jeremy Doku, but might be in the market for another player in similar territory, perhaps to play on the opposite flank.
Gnabry is versatile enough to feature in a variety of attacking roles, which may add to his appeal, especially when Pep Guardiola implements a fluid system.
Guardiola could therefore end up raiding his former club – which he left a while before they signed Gnabry – with an attempt to give the attacker a second chance in the Premier League.
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