Lucas Paqueta has become the heartbeat of the Hammers which makes everything tick around him but beyond that he truly puts in a shift, tracking back and always wanting to be involved.
The club’s record signing has linked with Mo Kudus and Jarrod Bowen top amazing effect and certainly doesn’t play like a man who is under any threat from the Football Association as a result of the inquiry into alleged betting irregularities.
Sunday saw the No10 produced a masterpiece which earned him a ten out of ten rating from Claret and Hugh as he set up all three goals for the club via Mo Kudus and Jarrod Bowen.
Paquetá vision saw him pick out Mohammed Kudus twice in the space of ten first-half minutes to put the Irons in control, before a perfectly weighted one-two sent Jarrod Bowen clear to secure all three points in the second half.
And speaking to www.whufc.com he declared: “I’m so happy to get three assists for the first time, but more important is three points. It’s a big win but now we need to recover because we have the next game.
Moments earlier, in another interview, Kudus had revealed that when Paquetá is in possession, he immediately makes a run because he knows the South American has the ability to pick him out, as he did so successfully on Sunday.
He added: “Now the guys understand a little bit more and I have this pass. I like to look before I even have the ball and Jarrod and Mo make the runs and I can make the pass.”
And a switch of Paquetá to a position on the left of midfield this season has clearly brought out the best in both him and his big pal Emerson.
Heartbeat of the Hammers Paqueta speaks out
He said: “Emerson is a very good player, a top player, and I’m very happy to play with him because he understands me and he knows me and when I have the ball I understand him. It’s so easy to play with him and I’m so happy!
“I like to play, I like to help the team and I’m so happy. I don’t need to score to make me happy. Three points and the win are my best focus. It’s just this!”
Tomorrow it is Liverpool followed by Manchester United on Saturday and Paqueta said: “We know this week is very important for us against two big teams, but in football is eleven against eleven.
“Of course, we respect them but we need to try to win. We showed on Sunday we have a good team and we can go on the pitch and try to win every game.”
Paqueta has been brilliant at times this season (Wolves game in particular) but you can’t simply erase from memory the games and periods of games where he coasts, walking with hands on hips, letting others do the chasing…..