Davids Gold and Sullivan will never win many popularity contests in East London. They are never going to have statues erected on the grounds of West Ham United’s stadium.
But credit where credit is due. For an ownership group so often accused of lacking ambition, the identify of some of West Ham’s transfer targets since the turn of the year paints the picture of a club looking to make the next step, looking to put a crack in the glass ceiling after two years of chipping away.
There is no shame in losing out to Manchester City, Barcelona and Liverpool however. And while David Moyes might have been frustrated by Matheus Nunes’ £35 million move to Wolves, players with a Portuguese passport are always going to be tempted by the idea of joining Bruno Lage’s Iberian-influenced Molineux dressing room.
Reports from The Athletic suggesting that a £33 million deal for Lyon talisman Lucas Paqueta is edging close to completion, however, will offset some of the disappointment at missing out on Diaz, Phillips and co. Make no mistake; Paqueta, a Brazil international described as a ‘world star’ by World Cup winner Jerome Boateng, is every bit a coup as any of West Ham’s other high-profile transfer targets would have been.
West Ham United close in on Lyon star Lucas Paqueta
In 2021/22, the silky, left-footed Paqueta provided 11 goals and seven assists for an underperforming Lyon side. He’s got 33 caps for his Brazil already. At 24, the former AC Milan youngster has his best years ahead of him too.
And, just last month, Arsenal director Edu Gaspar admitted to TNT that he was a ‘big fan’ of a player often linked with The Gunners, labelling him the best overseas player in France. Some statement, when you consider Neymar, Marco Verratti and Lionel Messi are all plying their trade under the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.
Paqueta, described as the ‘new Kaka’ by some during his time at the San Siro, said back in 2019 that ‘playing as a left-central midfielder is the position I prefer’. At Lyon, he has alternated between the ‘number ten’ spot and that of and a deeper, string-pulling playmaker, often drifting in from the right-hand side onto his surgeon’s scalpel of a left foot.
At West Ham, however, you can expect to see Paqueta as one of the three attacking midfielders behind Gianluca Scamacca or Michail Antonio. With Jarrod Bowen nailing down the right-sided spot, he is perhaps most likely to play through the centre; providing a link between midfield and attack. With that in mind, Pablo Fornals and Manuel Lanzini have the most to lose from Paqueta’s arrival.
Where will Lucas Paqueta play under David Moyes?
Does news of Paqueta’s potentially imminent arrival bring an end to West Ham’s interest in Club Brugge star Hans Vanaken? Per the Daily Mail, the Hammers saw a second bid rejected for the 6ft 4ins Belgian this week. Interestingly, Sky Sports suggest that Vanaken’s future is not tied to that of Paqueta. They are independent targets, and thus independent deals.
Rio-born Paqueta is not the only Brazilian attacker who could be on his way to West Ham before next week’s transfer deadline either. Flamengo’s Vice President Marcelo Braz has now confirmed a Hammers’ bid for the £9 million-rated Lazaro. If West Ham return with a new, bigger offer, there’s certainly a deal to be done.
And there is no reason why Lazaro, Vanaken and Paqueta cannot all play together in the same starting XI. Lazaro, 20-year-old former Brazil U17 international is at his most effective on the left, skipping through tackles and cutting inside a la Said Benrahma. Vanaken, meanwhile, could take the place of the out-of-sorts Tomas Soucek.
By the time Chelsea host the Hammers at Stamford Bridge on September 4th, David Moyes could have an all-new attacking quartet to call upon.
Bowen right. Lazaro on the left. Paqueta behind Scamacca, and Vanaken making those trademark penalty-box bursts from deep.
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