Lucas Paqueta’s West Ham career may not be over yet as Flamengo transfer clause emerges
Lucas Paqueta’s move to Flamengo may have been confirmed, though that may not necessarily spell the end of his career with West Ham.
It’s been a remarkably busy few weeks for West Ham, with as many as four new arrivals matched with several players departing the London Stadium.
One of those was, of course, Paqueta, who joined Flamengo in a record transfer, having expressed his desire to move on from the Hammers.
The Brazilian has signed a five-year contract with his boyhood club, though the transfer includes some interesting clauses.
West Ham have buy-back clause for Lucas Paqueta
Paqueta‘s exit from West Ham is certainly a good thing for all parties.
For him, he gets the chance to go back to his home country and find a love for football again. For West Ham, they receive a good fee for a player who was struggling to influence games. And for Flamengo, they get the player they’ve wanted all window.
The Brazilian club will pay £13million up front for Paqueta, and then three more instalments to make up for the remaining £23m.
However, a report from ESPN Brazil also states that the Hammers have included a buy-back clause in the deal.
If Flamengo were to receive an offer for the midfielder in the future, West Ham would be notified and would therefore have first refusal to match the amount set out to bring him back to the Premier League.
In all honesty, it’s unlikely that the Irons would look to do that, though the option is there.
Will West Ham look to replace Paqueta?
With the arrival of Pablo from Gil Vicente, there’s a case to be made that they already have.
However, outside of that, it seems unlikely that that will be the case ahead of the transfer deadline on 2 February, with four new forward arrivals already this winter.
While West Ham have been linked with James McAtee among several other attacking midfielders, Nuno has expressed how difficult it would be to replace someone of Paqueta’s profile.
Speaking in his latest press conference ahead of West Ham’s clash with Chelsea, he said: “You cannot replace Lucas because he is unique. He is a number 10 who has special qualities.
“You cannot find many players like Lucas in the transfer window, you cannot find them. We have to move forward with what we have.”
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