Sources: West Ham’s updated stance on Lucas Paqueta transfer revealed
Lucas Paqueta is on the radar of multiple clubs as they look to exploit his situation at West Ham in January, sources have told Football Insider.
The Brazilian was shown a second yellow card for persistent dissent towards referee Darren England during the Hammers’ 2-0 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday, a defeat that left them outside the Premier League relegation zone on just goals scored alone.
Paqueta has been torn apart by the West Ham fans in the aftermath of the incident, which came just months after he almost left to join Aston Villa in the final days of the summer transfer window.
The East London outfit ultimately escaped with the midfielder still part of their squad in the summer, but sources have now indicated that there are clubs waiting in the wings to try and spark a deal once again.
West Ham’s stance on Lucas Paqueta clear ahead of January
Former PGMOL chief Keith Hackett exclusively told Football Insider that referee England must take some blame for Paqueta’s red card, after he failed to remove himself from the situation as it was unfolding.
However, that will do little to stem any of the anger from the supporters or from manager Nuno Espirito Santo towards the 28-year-old that has arisen in recent days.
This is the latest in a long line of controversial incidents surrounding Paqueta, as he was only cleared of wrongdoing in the FA’s spotfixing investigation into him a matter of months ago.
Despite this latest issue, Football Insider has learned that West Ham still have no intention to sell Paqueta in the January window.
The ex-AC Milan star is seen as being too important to lose midway through the campaign, regardless of the interest brewing elsewhere.
The only way that is likely to change is if a big and unrefusable offer is sent to the London Stadium.
Lucas Paqueta has tried to blame the FA for his red card
Paqueta took to X after West Ham’s defeat to share his thoughts on the red card incident, and it is fair to say that he tried to deflect blame away from himself.
The Brazilian hit out at the lack of “psychological support” that he received from the FA during his two-year-long investigation, and suggested that his actions were a reflection of the turmoil that he had to go through away from the pitch.
That is unlikely to have gone down well with Nuno, who would surely much rather have seen him take responsibility for his actions and maybe even issue an apology to the fans and his teammates.
Paqueta will now be unavailable for the Hammers’ trip to face Manchester United on Thursday night, another game that is crucial to their ongoing efforts to beat the drop.