Tim Vickery has been speaking about Lucas Paqueta ahead of his £48m move from Lyon to West Ham.
What’s the story?
Well, the east Londoners are close to signing the Brazil international after finally agreeing a fee with the Ligue 1 side, having initially seen a £33.8m bid rejected by the French giants.
Paqueta is now set to fly into London, where he will undergo a medical on his 25th birthday tomorrow.
West Ham have agreed personal terms with the Lyon No.10 – however, there is the small matter of a release clause being discussed, which is said to be holding things up.
However, if the deal does go through, there is something else for West Ham fans to worry about – according to Vickery.
The South American football expert told Sky Sports: “He’s really an attacking midfielder, but he can also play up front. You can play him as a withdrawn winger, and deeper in midfield – although there is a problem there as, sometimes, he can give the ball away too close to his own goal because he’s showboating.
“There is a little bit of the petulant schoolboy about him. It would be a challenge of man-management for David Moyes.”
We’ve seen a lot of petulance at West Ham in the past with the likes of Marko Arnautovic, so another problematic player – especially one worth £48m – is the last thing David Moyes needs.
Hopefully, Paqueta doesn’t show any of the “schoolboy” antics Vickery refers to at the London Stadium.
Lucas Paqueta could explode at West Ham
In our view – if he is able to cut out the negatives mentioned by Vickery – Paqueta has the potential to emulate Philippe Coutinho in the Premier League, a man who earned a £146m move to Barcelona thanks to his efforts.
The Rio de Janeiro-born playmaker is a physically strong midfielder who can operate in a number of different areas, but despite his physique, he also has the dribbling ability of a 5ft 9in attacker.
Paqueta is a very similar footballer to the legendary Kaka in that respect – interestingly, he has actually been compared to the 2007 Ballon d’Or winner.
Should he stay fit, we are confident that the Brazilian maestro will shine in claret and blue.
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