West Ham United have turned down a €38 million offer from Flamengo for Lucas Paqueta as talks continue to find a solution.

According to The Athletic, Flamengo have failed with a €38 million bid for Lucas Paqueta, with West Ham United turning it down. The East Londoners are eager to keep hold of the Brazilian midfielder to aid their relegation battle, but the Hammers are only willing to do business if the Brazilian side can cough up €60 million.

Lucas Paqueta’s immediate future remains the main talking point over at West Ham United this month. The South American midfielder is considered a key part of the team, and the Hammers are hoping to keep him at least until the summer and help their relegation battle in the second part of the season.

Losing an influential figure like Paqueta will be a blow to West Ham’s survival hopes, with the team languishing in 18th place and five points off a safety position. While they are doing everything possible to make use of the current transfer window, there is a real danger of losing the Brazilian.

Flamengo had agreed to personal terms with Lucas Paqueta a few days ago, and since then have been pushing to get a deal done for the midfielder. The Brazilian has reportedly turned down approaches from other teams as he has set his heart on a return to his former team in his homeland.

Flamengo had recently lodged a bid to sign Paqueta, which was turned down by West Ham United. It was in the region of €38 million, as per the report. The Hammers are seeking at least €60 million to sell the Brazilian international, but at the moment, the Brazilian giants are far behind in terms of matching what the Londoners want.

Will Flamengo succeed in the Paqueta chase?

The €60 million mark might seem excessive for Flamengo to sign Paqueta, but that figure also underlines the importance of the player to West Ham. Since the bid was turned down, the Brazilian side have continued talks with the Hammers as per Sky Sports, with suggestions they might be willing to lodge a fresh bid with a higher figure soon.

The other caveat in this situation is the time remaining for Flamengo’s transfer market, which effectively runs until March. Hence, here is a case of cooling down for a bit and then revisiting the Lucas Paqueta case in a few weeks, as West Ham could have a clearer picture with regards to their relegation battle, which may help Flamengo in negotiating a fair price for the €60 million-rated star.