The chances of a glorious Lucas Paqueta send off – the West Ham United playmaker bringing down the curtain with a midfield masterclass away at Tottenham Hotspur – appears about as likely as Thomas Frank turning into a modern-day version of Mauricio Pochettino.
Nuno Espirito Santo was hopeful that Lucas Paqueta would remain a West Ham United player long enough to put Frank closer to the precipice.
But according to claims from Hammers reporter Jacob Steinburg on X, the prospect of Paqueta bidding farewell to the supporters on the pitch at the end of Saturday’s London derby now appears extremely slim.
What is the best SOLUTION for West Ham over Lucas Paqueta? 👀
As negotiations regarding a return to his beloved Flamengo continue – Paqueta has reportedly agreed personal terms already – it seems Nuno will have to do without his most enigmatic talent from here on out.
How do West Ham chase a result against their bitter rivals without him? And who can step up to fill a Paqueta-shaped void in the number ten role?
Those are two of the questions Hammers News put to our readers this week:
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West Ham United fans back Mateus Fernandes to replace Lucas Paqueta at Tottenham
It remains to be seen whether West Ham go into the market for an attacking midfielder capable of emulating Paqueta’s line-breaking qualities or occasional moments of true Brazilian brilliance.
For the time being, at least, Nuno does have a few in-house options.
Could he opt for the dynamism of Mateus Fernandes? The box-crashing physicality of Tomas Soucek? Taty Castellanos played sometimes in a supporting role for Lazio. And, during his first two appearances and claret and blue, Pablo Felipe could be spotted drifting wide and deep in order to receive possession between the opposition’s midfield and their backline.
Nuno may have also had the left-field option of George Earthy, although Bristol City snapped up this ‘gegenpressing monster’ on another loan deal a few days ago.
At the time of writing, 51 per cent of Hammers News readers voted to see Fernandes pushed further forward in Paqueta’s likely absence. That is, of course, presuming the Portugal Under-21 captain is available to start himself.
Fernandes was back on the training pitch this week, fortunately, having missed the FA Cup triumph over Queens Park Rangers.
Castellanos gets 20 per cent of the vote, ahead of Pablo’s 19 per cent. Should both start, expect to see Castellanos and Pablo alternate positions and look to open up spaces for one another.
Interestingly, only eight per cent of our readers want to see Soucek given the nod in the number ten role. Though in fairness, Soucek’s stand-out performances under Nuno have come as an imposing powerhouse in a double pivot or up top as a makeshift supersub centre-forward.
Thomas Frank and Nuno Espirito Santo spell out their gameplans
Under-fire Thomas Frank is confident that Tottenham ‘will win the game’ if they play with the same heart and tenacity they demonstrated during the second-half of last week’s home defeat by Aston Villa. Their seventh home defeat in all competitions this term.
That Frank is using a promising but brief 45 minute spell in yet another home defeat as an example of the standards he hopes to set, well, that rather tells its own story.
Nuno, meanwhile, insists that West Ham must put up ‘a good fight’ at the very least. Push high up the pitch, engage Spurs from the off, and try and set nerves a-jangling among a fanbase who have grown used to booing their own players down the tunnel…
It is difficult to say that Spurs are ‘there for the taking’, given that West Ham have picked up only three points from a possible 27. But this is absolutely the sort of game which feels both ‘winnable’, and like a potential turning point.
There aren’t too many of those left on the calendar…
“[Play on the] front foot and make them nervous! Their crowd will do the rest,” one Hammers News reader said when we asked how Nuno can mastermind another victory at a ground where West Ham took all three points in both 2023 and 2019.
“Shore up the defence and work as a team,” another said. “Bonus, no [Mohammed] Kudus. We need to get at them early and focus.”
Another, meanwhile, suggested ‘swapping Bowen and Summerville around’. The feeling is that, with Bowen on the left and Summerville on the right, West Ham’s wingers could ‘get to the byline and get crosses in’ for their new £44 million strikeforce.
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