“Now We Can Build a Team” | Lopetegui’s Outstanding Paqueta News

West Ham head coach Julen Lopetegui will be the happiest man in East London following the news that Lucas Paqueta will be available to play for West Ham next season.

As has been made clear by the last 24 hours of transfer activity, bolstering the Hammers’ defence has become a massive priority for the club. Tim Steidten has been busying himself with bids for both Aaron Wan-Bissaka and French central defender Jean-Clair Todibo.

Whilst it’s perfectly understandable that West Ham wish to reinforce an area that was such a problem for the team last season, it surely has diverted funds from attacking positions.

Therefore, it must be a massive relief to be unburdened of the duty of having to allocate some of the transfer funds to replace Paqueta. It may well sound like something of a football cliché, but having the Brazilian available for the Premier League season will be like signing a new player.

Paqueta may well have his flaws, which include a bit too much diving, unnecessary playacting, and a bit of rolling around on the floor when he should be helping his teammates out. However, his quality on the ball is without question, and at his very best, he is a world-class player.

So much so, in fact, that Manchester City and Pep Guardiola were more than happy to fork out £85m for his services. Trying to replace Paqueta would have proven to be a massive pain for the Hammers, but now, at the very least, the decision can be put off until January.

With the addition of a new central defender, a new right back, and a striker, West Ham could begin the new campaign with a formidable team.