MY ACCOUNT
Lucas Paqueta was a marquee signing for West Ham this summer, setting the club back £51million.
The Brazilian is yet to get off the mark for the Hammers but his technical ability has fans on the edge of their seats.
In two years at Lyon, he scored 21 goals and recorded 14 assists in 80 appearances but is yet to showcase that talent in East London.
As David Moyes’ side prepare to take on Silkeborg in the Europa Conference League tonight, we take a closer look at Paqueta.
The missing piece
West Ham have lacked an impactful creative midfielder for a while, with the efforts of Pablo Fornals and Manuel Lanzini largely ineffective.
As such, Moyes has had to play his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation with wide player Said Benrahma often occupying a more central role.
On other occasions, the Scotsman has opted for a 4-3-3 or 3-5-2 to accommodate the lack of creativity.
Since his arrival, West Ham have deployed a 3-4-1-2 with Paqueta expected to present goalscoring opportunities for Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen ahead of him.
This was how the East London club set up against Chelsea in what was arguably their best performance of the season.
Operating more on the left side of the pitch, the Copa America winner has an eye for a pass and will eventually help his side add to the measly three Premier League goals they have scored this term.
Heavy price tag
Sourcing players from Ligue 1 has not always worked out for Premier League clubs, you need only look at Tanguy Ndombele, Anthony Martial and Nicolas Pepe.
Paqueta will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Bernardo Silva and more recently Bruno Guimaraes, who are both important players for their sides.
A club-record signing, the board and fans will be expecting the midfield maestro to deliver instantaneously.
His versatility and ability to play as a conventional No10, as well as a false nine or wide midfielder, means he can offer West Ham a number of options in the attacking third.
In the 2021-22 campaign, five of his nine goals came from an advanced midfield role, one came as a false nine, two on the right of midfield and one as a central midfielder.
A regular starter for Brazil, Paqueta had drawn interest from other clubs in England but only West Ham were willing to pay Lyon’s asking price.
If he can reproduce his form in the Premier League, £51m may seem like a bargain.
If you can’t beat them, join them
West Ham got a close look at Paqueta when they faced Lyon in last season’s Europa League quarter-finals.
The Hammers drew the first leg 1-1 before a stunning 3-0 win in France — and the 25-year-old was set on playing in claret and blue after coming up against them.
Speaking on his decision to join the club, Paqueta said: “After we played West Ham in the Europa League last season, we all said how great the fans were and what great energy there was in the place.
“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.
“It was really that desire that everybody at the club showed in this amazing project they have and the fact they wanted to include me in that really cemented my decision.
“I saw how much confidence everybody and all the fans had in me, it just makes me want to reward them and pay that back each time I get on the pitch.”
World Cup aspirations
The safe move for Paqueta would have been to stay at Lyon for one more season as he had established himself as a Brazil regular during his stint in France.
But the former AC Milan midfielder has backed himself to prove his worth in the Premier League and leave his national manager Tite no choice but to start him in Qatar.
The South American nation are one of the favourites to lift the Jules Rimet Trophy this winter.
Paqueta will have to compete with both Guimaraes and Phillipe Coutinho to start in the 61-year-old’s preferred 4-2-3-1 formation.
One way to impress his international manager will be by dragging West Ham up the table after their less than inspiring start to the domestic campaign.
A convincing win at Silkeborg would be the perfect preparation for a trip to Everton on Sunday where a win could lift the visitors out of the relegation zone for the first time this season.
