Lucas Paqueta is a Brazilian central midfielder signed by West Ham manager David Moyes at the beginning of the 2022/23 season.
West Ham signed Paqueta for £50m from French side Lyon, but the transfer was completed very late in the transfer window due to the managers failed attempts to sign Jesse Lingard from Manchester United. The transfer fee eclipsed The Hammers previous transfer record of £42m for striker Sebastien Haller.
Paquetá initially struggled to settle into the West Ham team, although it is probably fair to say the whole club was probably suffering a hangover from reaching the semi finals of the Europa League the previous season.
Lucas Paqueta
It wasn’t until November at the Qatar World Cup that West Ham fans were truly able to see the very best of Lucas Paqueta, who was outstanding for Brazil. Once he returned, the teams form improved and the player started to display some of his obvious technical ability.
Towards the end of the 2022/23 season, Paqueta had started to form an excellent partnership with then captain Declan Rice. West Ham’s Premier League and Europa Conference League form began to improve and Paquetá was instrumental.
Lucas Paqueta’s full name is Lucas Tolentino Coelho de Lima, he was born in 1997 and began his career at Brazilian club Flamengo.
Paqueta build up quite a reputation in South America which alerted a host of big European clubs. In January 2019 he was sold to AC Milan for a reported €35m, but he struggled to replicate his Flamengo form despite his obvious talent.
Just 18 months later Paqueta was sold to Lyon for €20 million on a five-year contract, where he regained his form and earned a big money move to West Ham.