Pundit View: Major January changes needed at West Ham United with Lucas Paqueta set to be ‘one hell of a player’
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 major changes are needed at West Ham in January if they are to turn their season around, but praised the impact of Lucas Paqueta.
The Hammers spent a club record £51.3m on Brazilian playmaker Paqueta in the summer, and while he hasn’t quite lit up the Premier League yet he has been one of the better performers in a struggling side since his move from Olympique Lyon.
He’s done enough to convince former Irons striker McAvennie that he will be a star in the future, but the Scot still believes there are too many passengers in the squad and Moyes must find his best team quickly to weed them out.
“I think the Brazilian, he’s going to be one hell of a player for West Ham,” he told West Ham Zone.
“He got injured and all of a sudden they’ve not been as good. Sometimes you need that calming influence in there and that would have helped Declan as well.
“There’s a lot of players who get brought in, who I think are squad players. I don’t think we need more squad players at West Ham, I think we need players to come in and better the team.
“Chopping and changing, he’s not really got the same. There’s got to be changes at West Ham, starting in January when they start back.
“The guys not at the World Cup will be fresh. It’ll be great for guys like Bowen, who from a selfish view would have wanted to be at the World Cup but for me he’s getting a rest which is only going to be good.”