Potter to get his West Ham midfield rebuild as Paqueta exit plans put in motion
Lucas Paqueta is potentially on the verge of leaving West Ham United in the summer transfer window.
The Brazilian lit up the Premier League when he initially arrived from Lyon back in 2022.
The 27-year-old recorded eight goals and nine assists across his first two campaigns and attracted the attention of Manchester City, who were prepared to pay £80million for Paqueta’s services.
This proposed move collapsed following the betting scandal that the playmaker was involved in, but it’s been widely reported that Paqueta is set to be cleared of any wrongdoing.
West Ham ready to listen to offers for Paqueta
The Hammers have been linked with plenty of attacking midfielders so far in the window, with Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott and Southampton’s Mateus Fernandes just a few of the names mentioned as potential arrivals in E20.
Given his poor form last season, Paqueta is unlikely to fetch the same fee City were willing to pay; however, this has not stopped West Ham from looking to offload the midfielder.
According to a report from GIVEMESPORT (30 July), Graham Potter is keen to have a full midfield rebuild over the summer, with Paqueta, alongside Guido Rodriguez and Edson Alvarez, all on the chopping block.
While it is unclear just how much West Ham are demanding for the Brazilian, Flamengo and Saudi Arabian giants Al-Ahli are interested in Paqueta.
The report claims that West Ham are open to offers for Paqueta, meaning the player is very much up for sale.
It is also suggested that Arsenal’s Fabio Vieira and Chelsea’s Kieran Dewsbury-Hall are some of the names who could join as part of the rebuild of Potter’s engine room.
West Ham should prioritise Elliott over Vieira
There is still a significant amount of business to be done by the Hammers if they want to have this midfield rebuild ready for Potter by the time their opening day fixture against Sunderland rolls around in just over a fortnight.
Whilst securing Elliott’s signature would be a fantastic signing, the arrival of Vieira would be extremely underwhelming.
The Portuguese player has barely kicked a ball for Arsenal for multiple seasons before he was shipped out to Porto on loan last season.
In Elliott, Potter would be getting a player who is Premier League-ready right now, but also has significant room for growth given the fact that he is just 22.
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