Michael Carrick wants Man Utd to sign West Ham ‘maverick’ for £35m – report

Manchester United interim manager Michael Carrick has urged the club’s director of football, Jason Wilcox, to try to sign Lucas Paqueta from West Ham United in the January transfer window, according to a speculative report, as TEAMtalk reveals whether the Hammers could sanction an exit for the Brazilian star in the middle of the season.

Carrick has only just been appointed the interim manager of Man Utd and will stay in the role until the end of the season. The former Man Utd and West Ham midfielder has replaced Darren Fletcher, who was in charge of the first team for two matches and is now back in his role as the manager of the Under-18s side.

According to Hooligan-Soccer , Carrick has already identified the first signing that he would like to make for Man Utd in his role as the interim boss.

The (speculative) report has claimed that Carrick wants to raid his former club, West Ham, for Lucas Paqueta .

Paqueta is reported to have agreed personal terms with Flamengo already, but Carrick is ‘asking’ Man Utd director of football Wilcox to see if a deal for the Brazil international could be done for ‘a potential offer in the $40-$47M range’ (up to £35m, €54m).

Paqueta is one of West Ham’s best players, with former Hammers manager David Moyes describing him as “a maverick” in October 2023 in The London Evening Standard .

The Brazilian star has scored 23 goals and given 15 assists in 139 appearances for the Hammers so far in his career.

Paqueta has found the back of the net four times and has registered one assist in 18 Premier League matches for West Ham so far this season.

This is not the first time that Man Utd have been linked with a move for Paqueta this season.

There were reports in November 2025 that Man Utd, who then had Ruben Amorim as their manager, were looking into a possible deal for Paqueta .

Our transfer insider, Dean Jones, said at the time (November 3, 2025): “The rumours about Man Utd and Paqueta don’t really make sense, and I’m sceptical about why they would spend upwards of £60million on him any time soon.

“I do believe we are coming into a time when the player himself is starting to get itchy feet and wants a new club and a bigger contract, but he does not fit what I understand Man Utd to be looking for and – so far – I have not heard of this being a deal they are looking to aim for in January.

“He’s not really of the midfield profile they want at the moment, apart from already being in the Premier League.

“The links to Spurs and Villa were legitimate ones, and at the right price, maybe those sorts of deals become feasible again, but West Ham are not going to let him leave on the cheap even at a time when they are pretty limited on what they can spend on the transfer market themselves.”

While it remains to be backed by a source more reputable and authoritative than Hooligan Soccer that Man Utd interim boss Carrick indeed wants to sign Paqueta, we should treat this rumour with extreme caution.

Moreover, we understand that West Ham will not sell Paqueta in the January transfer window.

Our transfer insider, Graeme Bailey, has reported that Paqueta’s camp has turned down the chance to join Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Aston Villa this month.

Sources have told us that the Brazil international attacking midfielder is insistent that he will only move to Flamengo in his native country.

We understand that West Ham co-owner David Sullivan is reluctant to sell Paqueta in the middle of the season, with the team in the Premier League bottom three and staring at relegation.

Flamengo have already told West Ham via intermediaries that they are willing to pay £30million (€34.6m, $40.3m) for Paqueta, but the Hammers want £42.5m (€49m $57.1m).

We also understand that Flamengo are willing to wait until March to get a deal done for the 28-year-old, as the Brazilian transfer window is still open until then.

Meanwhile, a journalist has revealed the three deals that Man Utd have already decided on in regard to the January transfer window.