West Ham United: David Moyes to make Lucas Paqueta call v Forest amid new development
David Moyes is likely to take a late call on Friday as to whether Lucas Paqueta can feature for West Ham against Nottingham Forest on Saturday (17 February), according to the Evening Standard.
The newspaper reported online (15 February) that attacking midfielder Paqueta is back in training for the Hammers having been sidelined since sustaining a recurrence of a calf injury in the 1-1 FA Cup draw with Bristol City on 7 January.
West Ham have struggled badly in recent weeks, losing 6-0 last time out to Arsenal with their last win coming against the Gunners on 28 December.
The Standard report that with a nine-day gap between the Forest game and their following match with Brentford that Moyes is likely to take a cautious approach with one of his marquee players.
Lucas Paqueta in fitness race for West Ham against Nottingham Forest
It has been a miserable old time for the Hammers who have been without Paqueta for over a month at the same time they had Mohammed Kudus representing Ghana at the Africa Cup of Nations.
There is absolutely no doubt that having Paqueta back involved against the out-of-sorts Tricky Trees would be a monumental boost to Moyes, who has seen renewed questions about his future as a result of the club’s barren run of form.
On the flip side, what they can ill-afford is to bring Paqueta back into the team and risk losing him again for the foreseeable future if he plays and picks up another setback.
It means there is definitely a selection dilemma for Moyes, who must weigh up the risk factor of bringing the Brazilian star back into the fold or giving him longer to get back up to speed. It’s a crucial call to make.
In other West Ham news, Chelsea are ready to bid for Mohammed Kudus according to reports.
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