lucas-paqueta-west-ham-united-transfer-news-premier-league-paqueta-david-moyes-gianluca-scamacca-lyon-ligue-1-givemesport-london-stadiumSoccer Football - Premier League - Southampton v West Ham United - St Mary's Stadium, Southampton, Britain - October 16, 2022 West Ham United's Lucas Paqueta receives medical attention REUTERS/Peter Nicholls EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club /league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.
West Ham United summer signing Lucas Paqueta has been an “enigma” for the club so far, according to journalist Paul Brown.
THE LOWDOWN: A THREAT BUT NO END PRODUCT
The 24-year-old has shown signs of threat at the London Stadium, but he has failed to deliver consistently as a creative asset thus far, failing to score in his first 10 matches for the club.
Prior to last night’s match against Bournemouth, he was averaging 3.3 shots per 90 in the Premier League, the joint-highest in the squad along with fellow summer arrival Gianluca Scamacca.
The Brazilian is undoubtedly proactive in the final third, but he is failing to have the creative impact which may have been expected upon his arrival from Lyon for a club-record fee in August.
THE LATEST: DEJA VU
In discussing Paqueta’s influence for West Ham – or apparent lack thereof – Brown drew comparisons with another player who swapped Lyon for London, namely former Tottenham midfielder Tanguy Ndombele.
The journalist recognises the Brazilian’s qualities but is concerned about the lack of consistency in his game right now, which ultimately led to Ndombele being regarded as a flop.
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, the journalist said of Paqueta: “For whatever reason, he’s like a little bit of an enigma at the moment.
“It reminds me a little bit of Ndombele, when he first went to Spurs, someone else that a paid a lot of money for a player, and he was full of the tricks and there would be highlight reels on social media, weaving a little bit of magic, every game or every other game, but he was finding it hard to fit into the structure and wasn’t contributing enough, and things are going that way a little bit for Paqueta.”
THE VERDICT: GIVE HIM TIME
Whilst Paqueta has so far failed to transfer the form which saw him bag 14 or more attacking returns in back-to-back Ligue 1 seasons with Lyon during his first few weeks with the Irons, that he is getting into positions to have plenty of shots on goal would suggest that his fortunes will turn eventually.
The Brazil international is technically superb and can be a real talismanic figure for David Moyes’ side, ranking among the top 10 percentiles for positional peers in Europe’s top five leagues for progressive passes, balls into the final third, pressures and tackles.
It’s much too early to write him off just yet, and he deserves to be given time to truly make his mark at the London Stadium.
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