West Ham may have had their ups and downs this season, but one constant source of excitement has been Lucas Paquetá. The Brazilian midfielder has shown flashes of world-class brilliance — the kind that gets fans off their seats and opposition players chasing shadows.
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00:00Now, West Ham have had their ups and downs this season,
00:05but one constant source of excitement has been Lucas Paqueta.
00:09The Brazilian midfielder has shown flashes of his world-class brilliance,
00:13the kind that gets fans firing off their seats and opposition players chasing shadows.
00:19I spoke to London World's James Jones about Paqueta's recent performances,
00:24and he clearly pointing out there are moments when you watch him
00:26and think this guy could play for any team in the world.
00:30Paqueta's flair and unpredictability have been crucial for the Hammers,
00:34especially in tight games where a moment of magic can swing the momentum.
00:38James highlighted how important it is for West Ham to build around him this summer
00:43due to his uncertain future at the club.
00:46While consistency is still a work in progress, the signs are clear.
00:50Paqueta is more than just a luxury player.
00:52He's a match winner, a difference maker,
00:54and someone West Ham should be looking to keep at the centre of their project.
01:00Yeah, and just on Lucas Paqueta, I mean, obviously,
01:05he's maybe not shown his out-and-out best this season for West Ham,
01:09but the performance away at Liverpool, he was, you know,
01:12fairly remarkable, even Arnie Schlotzet after the game,
01:14how, you know, he's come over from Dutch football
01:17and he's realised how tough the Premier League is
01:19because, you know, teams, Linguishwin, around the bottom half of the table,
01:23have these superstars still within their ranks.
01:26I mean, it's a big compliment from the manager who's going to go on
01:30to win the Premier League title.
01:32Just how important is Paqueta when he is at his best?
01:34And, you know, it's obviously not been shown as much as it could have been this season,
01:39but surely he's a player that they really want to make sure they keep in the summer
01:43and can take West Ham forward next season.
01:47Yeah, well, obviously, Lucas Paqueta's future is still a little bit up in the air.
01:51There are a lot of question marks over what's going to happen
01:54with Lucas Paqueta off the pitch.
01:55His case with the FA has been adjourned until the end of the season,
02:00so we don't really know.
02:03If it comes out positively, then the club will no doubt be looking,
02:07ideally, be hoping to keep him.
02:09It's clear that Graham Potter likes him
02:12and he enjoys playing under Graham Potter.
02:14You know, he's played his best football since Graham Potter came into the team.
02:18And his best performance this season was arguably against Liverpool at Anfield last weekend,
02:22where particularly in the second half, he ran the show.
02:25And yes, people, you know, many were pointing at his attempts to try and buy a free kick
02:31in the build-up to, in the lead-up to Liverpool's corner that got them the winner.
02:36But that's Paqueta. He does things like that.
02:38We know he's done that for the last three years.
02:40He has moments like that where he tries to do something a little bit silly
02:44or try and win a free kick.
02:45But 90% of the time, when he's on his day, he's one of the best players on the pitch.
02:51You know, he is, there's a reason why Manchester City wanted to pay £85 million for him
02:55before everything came out about his spot-fixing allegations.
02:59So, he is a very, very important player for West Ham,
03:02a very important player for Graham Potter.
03:04And if we can keep him in that kind of form that we saw against Liverpool
03:07for the rest of the season, then he'll be a huge boost for us
03:10as we try and pick up as many points as possible,
03:12just to take a little bit of good feeling and a little bit of good positivity
03:16into the summer when that rebuild happens.
03:20If he does leave, then, you know, I think we can,
03:24he's had a fantastic three years at West Ham United.
03:27He was the guy that set up Jarrod Bowen in the Conference League final
03:30in the last minute to win us that trophy.
03:32So, West Ham fans love him.
03:35He's a frustrating player at times.
03:38But we know that on his day, and he was on his day against Liverpool last weekend,
03:43he's a fantastic footballer and an incredibly important player in this squad.
03:48So, it'll be interesting to see what happens with his case, with the FA.
03:53But it does make me wonder, and this is pure just in my opinion,
03:57that perhaps we might be looking at a more positive outcome on that
04:01given the form that he's in at the moment.
04:03And he's had a lot of distractions this season,
04:06but it didn't seem like he had any distractions on Sunday.
04:09So, hopefully, that's a good sign that we've got some positive news coming in May.
04:13But we'll see, we'll see.
04:14But at the moment, we just want to keep him informed,
04:17keep him playing like that,
04:18and hopefully, it will help us start picking up some results.
04:23So, hopefully, if we can get him back to his very best
04:25between now and the end of the season, at least,
04:28then, you know, that's incredibly important for the final six games.
04:32But no doubt, regardless of his form this year,
04:36regardless of his lack of output, his lack of numbers,
04:39there will be, no doubt, a lot of interest in him this summer.