Lucas Paqueta shares what he was saying about West Ham fans to his Lyon teammates

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Lucas Paqueta has hailed West Ham fans having experienced their atmosphere first-hand with Lyon back in April.

The Hammers were in the market for a big-money midfield addition this summer even after signing Flynn Downes from Swansea City.

West Ham went in for Piotr Zielinski from Napoli but ended up pulling off a major coup by signing Paqueta from Lyon instead.

Many clubs were linked with Paqueta but it was West Ham who won the race, striking a deal worth around £53million for the Brazilian.

Lucas Paqueta has hailed West Ham fans

Paqueta has made two Premier League appearances for West Ham so far, first coming on as a substitute against Tottenham Hotspur before starting against Chelsea.

The 25-year-old then played half of Thursday’s 3-1 win of FCSB in the Europa League with David Moyes building up his minutes gradually.

West Ham fans ultimately have high expectations for Paqueta though and will be looking for him to make a big impact very soon.

Paqueta has now commented on his move to East London and reflected on his battle with West Ham back in April.

Lyon faced off against West Ham in the Europa League quarter-finals with the first leg ending in a 1-1 draw before West Ham secured a 3-0 away win in the second leg.

Speaking to West Ham’s official website, Paqueta admitted that he and his Lyon teammates were blown away by West Ham’s ‘fantastic’ stadium.

Paqueta felt that the West Ham fans were ‘great’ too, believing that there was a ‘great energy’ at the London Stadium in that first-leg clash.

Paqueta noted that his night at the London Stadium certainly influenced his decision to join the Hammers, calling them a quite ‘incredible’ club.

“After we played West Ham in the Europa League last season, we all said as players what a fantastic stadium it was and how great the fans were and what great energy there was in the place,” said Paqueta. “That’s definitely something that influenced my decision as well. Without a doubt, it’s an incredible Club and something that I wanted to experience,” he added.

West Ham may not be in the Europa League this year but Moyes will certainly be pushing for a top six finish this season.

The hope is that West Ham can have more great European nights in the future and Paqueta would no doubt love to be a part of that.