Paqueta holds the key to beating Leverkusen

West Ham need Paqueta in the big moments against Leverkusen

Watching Manchester City play against Real Madrid in last night’s Champions League fixture, my thoughts turned to West Ham’s own Lucas Paqueta.

As I watched the England duo of Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden dictate play from advanced positions, I found myself in awe of their world-class skills. There’s much to admire from the top European teams, and tomorrow night’s opponents, Bayer Leverkusen, are no different.

Make no mistake about it, while Xabi Alonso’s men are playing the Hammers in the Europa League, they are a top-level team. So many of their squad are international class, and it’s easy to be wowed by their quality.

However, at West Ham, we have a few of our own, and in Lucas Paqueta, we have Brazil’s No. 10. Paqueta is good enough to grace any of these teams, so good in fact that Manchester City are willing to pay £85m for his services.

Tomorrow night at the BayArena, we need our Brazilian maestro to step up. He is a big occasion player with the ability to unlock the very best defences. Chances will be few and far between as David Moyes looks to keep the tie alive for the return leg.

So, it might come down to one moment of genius, and in that moment, if I could choose anyone, it would be Paqueta.