Lucas Paqueta faces an incredibly uncertain future with West Ham United.
West Ham signed Lucas Paqueta from Ligue 1 outfit Lyon in the summer of 2022 for a club record £51 million fee.
It emerged last summer that West Ham ace Lucas Paqueta was being investigated for his role in potential betting breaches.
Since then, things have gotten even worse for him, after he was charged for his alleged role in the betting scam.
Should Paqueta get found guilty of the charges being levelled against him, he reportedly could receive a lifetime ban.
That outcome would obviously be a disaster for the 27-year-old and West Ham as a club, but if he’s proven innocent of all charges levelled at him, keeping him at the London Stadium will then be the real challenge.
Manchester City are one club being heavily linked with a move to sign Paqueta, and if the Brazil international’s situation is all cleared up come the end of the season, the Premier League champions may well make their move.
So if we are forced to sell the former Lyon man, who should we target as his replacement? I think the perfect player for the job is very close to home indeed…
Perfect Lucas Paqueta replacement for West Ham is just 12 miles away
Whilst the talented South American loses the ball more than most, he’s also the only player in our team genuinely capable of opening up the opposition.
His vision and ability to break the lines with his hugely ambitious passing is something that the Hammers miss massively when he’s not playing.
So if Paqueta does leave next summer, Julen Lopetegui needs to sign a player with similar attributes to him.
And I believe the answer lies just 12 miles down the road.
Eberechi Eze of Crystal Palace is just the man we need at West Ham, and he’s more than good enough to replace Paqueta.
In fact, I would even go as far as saying he’s a better player than the Brazilian.
The distance between the London Stadium and Selhurst Park is just 12 miles as the crow flies, so there will be no need for Tim Steidten’s private jet!
The Hammers will have to qualify for Europe in order to give us any chance of making this deal happen, but whatever happens, we’ve got to try to obtain the 26-year-old’s signature in my opinion.
Eberechi Eze the perfect Lucas Paqueta replacement
The former QPR man is valued at around £60 million by Palace (BBC Sport).
If West Ham sell Paqueta for a similar fee, signing Eze should be a no-brainer for Lopetegui.
The 26-year-old bagged an impressive 10 goals in 38 games in the 2022/23 season and an even better 11 in 27 outings last term.
His low centre of gravity and exceptional dribbling ability make him an absolute nightmare to play against.
Eberechi Eze would be a sensational signing for West Ham, and he’d be more than capable of filling the void left behind by Lucas Paqueta, if the Brazilian does indeed leave the London Stadium.
I’m well aware that this is an ambitious shout, but we’re a club with very big aims now, and there’s every chance West Ham could pull this off if we qualify for Europe.
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