Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice is a huge fan of West Ham United playmaker Lucas Paqueta, according to Mark Warburton.
West Ham United ace Lucas Paqueta is a ‘genius’ who has a huge fan in Arsenal star Declan Rice.
That is according to former West Ham United coach Mark Warburton, who has been speaking to The Athletic.
West Ham cashed in on Rice over the summer, allowing him to complete a staggering £105million move to North London.
The Hammers then faced interest in another midfielder as Manchester City pushed to sign Lucas Paqueta, but he ended up staying put.
Declan Rice is a huge fan of Lucas Paqueta
Losing Rice and Paqueta in one transfer window would have been disastrous for David Moyes, so he will be happy to still have Paqueta involved.
The Brazilian has so much quality in his locker and is capable of moments of magic in the West Ham midfield.
Former Hammers coach Mark Warburton has now admitted to The Athletic that Rice absolutely loved playing with Paqueta.
The pair only spent one season together at West Ham but Rice seemingly loved what he saw.
Warburton claims that Rice and Paqueta kept the ball for fun in training with West Ham teammates unable to get the ball off them.
Warburton added that he would genuinely pick Rice and Paqueta together in a World XI, branding Paqueta a ‘genius’.
“He loved playing with Paqueta,” said Warburton. “If the pair of them were in the same team in a possession box (at training), no one got the ball back.”
“Yeah, I would. People will immediately say, ‘How naive is that? Look at the pool of talent available’, but Lucas Paqueta is a genius. More laid-back than a deck chair but I love watching him play football. Imagine Rice, Bellingham and Lucas in the same team,” he added.
Rice to face Paqueta next month
Paqueta and Rice did briefly meet earlier this month; Rice came off the bench for Arsenal in a 3-1 Carabao Cup defeat at West Ham.
The first Premier League meeting between the two sides takes place on the 28th of December, with Arsenal hosting West Ham.
The two sides lock horns again just a few weeks later as Arsenal travel to the London Stadium on February 10th.
Midfield battles are key to any game, but especially when it comes to Rice against Paqueta.
The pair know each other so well and seemingly struck up a real bond at West Ham, so their battles should be fascinating.
West Ham will just hope that Paqueta sticks around for a while yet, with City still thought to be sniffing around.
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