‘This is what Mark Noble told me about Lucas Paqueta’
Lucas Paqueta is back in the headlines for the right reasons.
The Brazilian midfielder was the star of the show as West Ham beat Everton 2-1 in a pre-season friendly in Chicago.
It’s unclear whether Paqueta will remain a West Ham player for the upcoming season. He has been linked with a big-money move away from East London this summer.
And these transfer rumours are likely to heat up after what a Sky Sports pundit said about him during coverage of the game.
Tim Howard shares what Mark Noble said about Paqueta
Paqueta was always going to be a conversation topic ahead of this match, seeing as he’s reportedly about to be cleared of all wrongdoing by the FA. He had been under investigation for several months after alleged breaches of betting protocols.
Former Everton and USA goalkeeper Tim Howard was a Sky Sports pundit for this match, and during a conversation about Paqueta, he revealed what West Ham legend Mark Noble said to him about the Brazilian.
“I was speaking to Mark Noble at length yesterday and we were talking about Paqueta,” he said.
“And he said to me ‘Tim you don’t understand, Paqueta could play in any team in world football – he’s that good’.”
It remains to be seen which team Paqueta plays for in the upcoming season. He has recently been linked with a move to Flamengo in his home country of Brazil.
At the same time, some West Ham fans will be praying that they resist all bids for their playmaker.
West Ham can’t afford to lose a player of Paqueta’s quality
West Ham only scored 46 Premier League goals last season, and they’ve now sold Mohammed Kudus, who was one of their main creative sparks.
Paqueta was out of form for large chunks of last season. The Brazilian admitted that the betting charges had affected his mental state.
But Hammers fans will be hoping that he can now put these charges behind him. He certainly looked close to his scintillating best against Everton.
| Lucas Paqueta West Ham statistics | |
| Signed | August 2022 |
| Appearances | 120 |
| Goals | 18 |
West Ham need an injection of flair into their team. They certainly could do without losing another player who can create goals out of nothing.
With the start of the Premier League season barely two weeks away, it would be difficult to replace Paqueta with a similarly skilled superstar.
For that reason, it would surely be in West Ham’s best interests for Paqueta to remain in East London.
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