West Ham United preparing for life without Lucas Paqueta amid transfer links
The winds of change are in full flow at West Ham United this summer.
It’s hard to believe that only a couple of months have passed since David Moyes took charge of his final games as Hammers manager and Julen Lopetegui was announced as his successor.
Transfer guru Tim Steidten has been hard at work behind the scenes to make sure the new boss has a squad in his own mould with Max Kilman and Luis Guilherme through the door.
There is no sense that the work is done yet and there plenty more business is expected – both incoming and outgoing – before the window shuts.
But a couple of transfer links that have emerged recently suggest that the club are planning – whether in the short or long term – for life without one key player.
And that man is Lucas Paqueta.
West Ham United ready for life without Lucas Paqueta
It is an extremely difficult scenario with Paqueta at the moment. The Brazil international was charged with four separate counts of spot-fixing by the Football Association, charges he has vehemently and regularly denied.
It leaves the Irons in a tricky spot. The Times reported (17 July) that the complexity of the investigation saw Paqueta’s lawyers granted extension to put together his defence and it could be that he is free to play most – if not all – of next season.
The 26-year-old has been linked with a move back to his former club in Brazil Flamengo, though, and while there has been no real indication that the club want to sell, it does feel like work is being done to plan for life without him.
Guilherme is only 18 but has arrived as one wide option, while both AC Milan ace Alexis Saelemakers (Calcio Mercato) and Juventus gem Matias Soule (Gazzetta Dello Sport) have been reported as targets.
Both players are sure to court plenty of admirers and as yet it is unclear just how much interest there is from West Ham in either player.
But the very fact they are being linked with these players suggests that work is being done to replace Paqueta. Whether that’s in the immediate term or the long term remains to be seen, though.
In other West Ham news, the club have been sent a transfer message by the manager of a rival Premier League club.
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