The FA probe into betting irregularities against him can keep Lucas Paqueta at Hammers for many months writes Hughie Southon.
Suggestions he will be off to Manchester City in the summer are highly unlikely given his current circumstances amid the investigation .
It turns out, as Claret and Hugh claimed a couple of days back, there is no permanent clause in Kalvin Phillips’ loan deal as admitted earlier today by the Hammers media department and this is because there is no point.
West Ham – as we explained in an initial story – can’t afford the wages he is likely to want so saw no reason to include a permanent clause in the final contract.
The Football Association’s investigation into irregularities against Paqueta may not even completed by this time next year or beyond given the history of such probes. So there is next to no chance of City getting Paqueta this year.
Paqueta – like former Arsenal star Granit Xhaka – had pleaded not guilty of such behaviour and thus far the FA has been involved for five months in looking at any evidence that may exist.
Even Brentford’s Ivan Toney, who pleaded guilty to charges of the same nature, was kept waiting for months before the decision was taken to punish him.
Xhaka, however, saw his “case” continue from December 2021 and was waiting 16 months before being allowed to celebrate the verdict that he had done absolutely nothing wrong.
Paqueta’s probe started after the Bournemouth match in August of last year and were it to run for the same length of time, or perhaps longer than as Xhaka’s , which the current position suggests it might well do, he may not hear until early next year.
So it seems it is far to early to be talking about the Brazilian being on his way this summer in a swap plus cash or any other sort of deal!
West Ham have told us they have no idea how much longer the hearing will take and Paqueta is getting on with his game giving no suggestion that he is anyway concerned he is not guilty of any wrongdoing.
In these circumstances there is no way City will or can do a swap plus cash deal for Phillips – so maybe we should all relax a little.