It is probably no great surprise that new head coach Nuno Espirito Santo continues to have very mixed returns at West Ham United, but all that could be exacerbated this month with talk that Lucas Paqueta is once again angling for a move.
The small positives left by David Moyes when he moved on for a second time back in the summer of 2024 were quickly eroded by the style of play changes introduced by both Julen Lopetegui and Graham Potter. Neither had the traction they had hoped for, but at least Potter arguably did not quite down tools .
Nuno has made his own changes given his own preferred style of play, and in most cases Hammers fans are on board with what he is trying to achieve, but what he is trying to achieve is not really producing results on the pitch. Losing Paqueta would not help that, but he has now dominated the transfers headlines for two windows in a row and a cynic would say that either he, or the club directly, have arguably decided to use the media to play slots at Betpandacasino.io in order to see what reward comes up tops before a decision is made on whether or not a move actually happens.
The calmly spoken 51 year old Portuguese former goalkeeper is also juggling our playing staff and trying to quickly improve the calibre of the options available to him, but in our position new signings are always problematic and now it seems that we may have an issue with key midfielder Paqueta once again.
Fans will be well aware of the history at play here. The 28 year old, 61 capped Brazilian international, was off to Manchester City a few years ago before betting scandal accusations hit the headlines and although he strenuously denied the claims and was ultimately cleared of the Football Association charges with a determination of ‘not proven’ it has left a bad taste, and Paqueta has been sore since and arguably not living up to his previously set high standards.
During the summer transfer window it was heavily reported that he was on the verge of a move to Aston Villa, but that was quickly and publicly walked back by the player himself. With our ongoing struggles this year, it is now being claimed on the speculation rumour mill that he has decided that he has had enough of England and the media and wants to return home for a quieter life with his friends and family.
Naturally, Brazilian club Flamengo are heavily linked with having an interest here but rumours have it a second club in the Brazilian Serie A are also sniffing around with a firm interest in his services. Paqueta does have 18 months remaining on his existing contract at the London Stadium and there was a quiet expectation that he would be off come next summer, but from our point of view a Brazilian move would seriously limit the profit valuation that we would be looking to make on him.
Therefore our current standpoint is that he is not for sale and the move does not have our blessing. With it believed that no offer has yet been forthcoming we do not have a decision to make at this moment in time, and Paqueta does not seem to be kicking up a fuss, but the speculated £35 million Flamengo would be willing to offer is seriously disappointing given six months ago we reportedly had £47.5 million on the table.
Whatever happens with this one remains to be seen, but when a player has heavy rumours for two windows in a row, it usually only has one outcome.
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