Eddie Howe reveals how close Newcastle United came to signing West Ham’s Lucas Paqueta

It was a summer transfer Newcastle United fans had hoped would happen, but in reality, Lucas Paqueta never came close to moving to St James’ Park.

In a saga that was fuelled by Bruno Guimaraes due to his close relationship with his former Lyon and current Brazilian teammate, Magpies supporters were set on the idea of seeing Paqueta in black and white.

But on Saturday evening, the 25-year-old will be lining up in claret and blue as the Magpies welcome West Ham United to Tyneside.

The Hammers paid a club-record £51million to bring Paqueta to the London Stadium. Was it ever of a case of Newcastle ‘missing out’ on his signature? Well, the answer is no.

“It was never close, but we certainly admire the player greatly,” Howe said. “There are loads of different reasons (it didn’t happen), transfer fees etc. He’s an outstanding talent and plays in a number of positions.

“He gives West Ham something totally different in the middle of the pitch. We’re certainly preparing for a tough game, because him and Rice are excellent players.”

Although Guimaraes won’t face his good pal through suspension, a bet is still on the line, with the loser paying for dinner.

“We had a bet with each other that the loser has to buy dinner - dinner in London, because we already had dinner in Newcastle,” Paqueta said last year.

“Bruno and Vinicius Jr (of Real Madrid) are my two best friends in football. I’ve known Vini since we were ten, at Flamengo, and me and Bruno built this amazing friendship at Lyon and became really close.

“It seems like yesterday we were playing video games together and talking about what it would be like if we ever played against each other. And soon it will happen.”