West Ham trouble: Julen Lopetegui ‘infuriated’ with Lucas Paqueta
West Ham United could be dictated in their January recruitment plans by whether or not they would prefer to keep Lucas Paqueta, according to Ian Darke.
Paqueta has started each of the last three he has been eligible for, despite missing the win at Southampton on Boxing Day through suspension. Julen Lopetegui had dropped him for the previous two before the draw at Bournemouth on 16 December.
The playmaker – shrouded by his alleged betting activity case ongoing in the background, the charges of which he vehemently denies – has failed to hit the heights for the Hammers in a struggling season for the club.
TV commentator Darke, speaking exclusively to West Ham Zone, has outlined how this could affect January plans and has added that a striker will almost certainly be on the agenda.
“I think they’ll be on the lookout for a striker, for sure, because of numbers. Michail Antonio is out for at least the foreseeable and he’s out of contract in the summer. There’s also a bigger picture there,” he stated.
“You’d think in that area is definitely the priority. But then where Lopetegui has at times left out Paqueta, too, that speaks volumes to me that he’s a little infuriated with him and that might be a consideration in January for their recruitment.
“Paqueta can be huge for them when he’s on song, but hasn’t been much this season.”
West Ham United in January dilemma
West Ham are plagued by the fact that in among all their heavy spending in the summer, they have failed to progress under Lopetegui.
Several of the club’s new signings have so far not worked out and the Hammers appear to be regularly picked off by the sides above them in the Premier League.
Tim Steidten will be in constant dialogue with the ownership at the London Stadium about how best to navigate a notoriously awkward winter market.
In other West Ham news, an argument to suggest Lopetegui’s employment is for now safe.
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