Lucas Paqueta backed to handle responsibility of West Ham United captaincy after Declan Rice exit
We’re delighted to welcome former West Ham United striker Frank McAvennie as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the London Stadium…
Frank McAvennie believes midfielder Lucas Paqueta is the top candidate to replace Declan Rice as West Ham United captain.
The armband at the East London club is now free after former skipper Rice made a £105million move to Arsenal earlier this summer.
Left-back Aaron Cresswell had been backed by ExWHUemployee (29 June) to take over the role, but he is “increasingly likely” to move to Wolves this summer, according to Claret and Hugh (21 July).
Former Hammers man McAvennie mentioned the likes of Jarrod Bowen, Kurt Zouma and Lukasz Fabianski as potential successors to Rice.
But the pundit is of the belief that manager David Moyes should hand the armband to Brazil ace Paqueta for the upcoming season.
Speaking to West Ham Zone, McAvennie said: “I don’t know what Paqueta’s English is like, but he’s the assistant captain of Brazil. It doesn’t get much bigger than that.
“Bowen, I’m not sure if he could handle the responsibility of that. There are a lot of players who can take it upon themselves, but I don’t think Harry Maguire could handle the captaincy of Manchester United for example.
“I don’t think Bowen could handle it at West Ham, because it’s a big thing now. So yeah, I would give it to Paqueta, I don’t know who else there is.
“There are a lot of young players. Perhaps Zouma at the back, or Fabianski if he is still going to be there next season. But it really depends on what kind of character they have in the dressing room.”
In other West Ham news, McAvennie has told the Hammers to wait until next summer to sign one wantaway Celtic star.