Lucas Paqueta to Flamengo to be signed off as likely West Ham fee now set
Lucas Paqueta’s West Ham exit looks set to accelerate in the coming days.
Paqueta is pushing desperately to leave the London Stadium in the winter transfer window, as he wants to return to Brazil.
Flamengo saw their opening bid of £30.3million rejected by West Ham, and are set to return with another offer shortly.
Paqueta has not featured for West Ham since the 2-1 loss to Nottingham Forest on 6 January, and it appears he may get his wish.
How much will West Ham get for Lucas Paqueta?
West Ham want to keep Paqueta to help their survival bid, but it seems that he does not want to play any part in it.
Luckily for all parties, a compromise may be reached in the near future.
Brazilian journalist Pablo Oliveira claimed on 24 January that a Hammers source has told him that the sides will strike an agreement for the transfer of Paqueta.
He stated that the figure is expected to be close to £43.5million.
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Why West Ham don’t need Paqueta anymore
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side proved that they do not need the 28-year-old in their 3-1 demolition against Sunderland on 24 January.
The Irons hammered their opposition at the London Stadium with goals from Crysencio Summerville, Jarrod Bowen and Mateus Fernandes.
The latter will be particularly pleasing for supporters and Nuno, as the ex-Southampton man is the natural successor to Paqueta in the number 10 role.
If the Brazil star is not going to play for the club, then they may as well take the money and reinvest it in the squad, to give them the best possible chance in the relegation battle.
If they continue in this form without the wantaway ace, then selling him for a decent fee and bringing in fresh talent would prove to be the right decision.
If they do not and they go down, well they have extra budget to try and get themselves back into the top-tier at the first possible opportunity.
It is very hard to get out of the Championship, so any additional help, will be a huge benefit for the E20 outfit, if they do drop down to the second tier at the end of the campaign.
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