Lucas Paqueta finds himself with a shout of joining a very exclusive West Ham United club as the Premier League takes its first breather of the new campaign.
A club which counts only five members.
Dimitri Payet, Andy Carroll, Sebastien Haller, Jesse Lingard, and Manuel Lanzini
Presumably, a few Hammers News readers have already worked out exactly what connects this West Ham United quintet, apart from their shared past in a claret and blue jersey.
Now, a place in the Premier League history books would complete what has been a hectic few days for Graham Potter’s brilliant Brazilian.
On Sunday, Lucas Paqueta committed his future to West Ham in the most empathic manner imaginable.
Fabrizio Romano labelled Lucas Paqueta’s kissing-the-badge, throwing-away-the-phone celebration at the City Ground as a ‘clear message’ to those who claimed he was on his way to Aston Villa. A message which Romano himself was presumably one of the intended recipients.
Former Hammers boss David Moyes then came to Paqueta’s aid during an independent hearing on the back of that two-year spot-fixing investigation. So, amid a whirlwind of emotions, winning the Premier League’s Goal of the Month award is likely to pale somewhat into relative insignificance.
Lucas Paqueta could be the sixth West Ham United player to win Premier League Goal of the Month award
Especially given that the goal in question came during that humiliating 5-1 defeat by London rivals Chelsea.
Before Enzo Maresca’s rampant visitors beat a helpless Mads Hermansen five times in 43 brutal minutes, Paqueta opened the scoring in thumping fashion. Driving forward after Nayef Aguerd snatched the ball from Estevao, the number ten let fly with a left-footed blast which fizzed beyond Robert Sanchez in the Chelsea goal.
Now, at the risk of raining on the Paqueta parade, a dream week for the £35 million playmaker seems unlikely to end with an individual accolade glittering on his mantelpiece.
Alongside Antoine Semenyo’s slaloming solo effort, Rio Ngumoha’s St James’ heroics, and two thunderous finishes from Everton duo James Garner and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, sits Dominik Szoboszlai’s screamer of a free-kick and Richarlison’s acrobatic brilliance against Burnley.
Paqueta, then, is probably fighting it out for third place at best.
If that Chelsea screamer was his The Departed or Titanic – ‘it’s nice to be nominated’ – then the wait for his The Revenant moment is likely to drag on.
Not even Jarrod Bowen has won the Goal of the Month award in a Hammers shirt
The most recent West Ham winner of the Goal of the Month award was Manuel Lanzini, by the way, back in October 2020. You will not need telling which goal we are talking about here. That remarkable last-gasp volley to secure a 3-3 comeback draw against Tottenham.
Jesse Lingard picked up the prize for his weaving solo effort against Wolves, Dimitri Payet’s looping free-kick back in 2016 was followed by a pair of thumping overhead kicks from Sebastien Haller and Andy Carroll respectively.
Surprisingly, Hammers talisman Jarrod Bowen is yet to get his mitts on a Goal of the Month trophy.
Darren Bent, the former England striker who scored 106 times in the top-flight himself albeit largely from much closer range, cannot wait to see how Paqueta kicks on following the close of the transfer window and his spot-fixing acquittal.
Bent labelled Paqueta the Premier League’s standout performer during the entirety of matchday three.
“Paqueta, he’s the one. With what has been going on for the last 18 months, I fully understand why his performances might have been [not the best].
“Now he’s cleared, his performances this season… I thought he was absolutely outstanding and I loved the performance.
“There were quite a few good performances, [particularly] Jarrod Bowen. But I just thought Lucas Paqueta, he’s got his mojo back. So he was my performance [of the week].”
In the meantime, Mads Hermansen got his own Premier League nomination, in the Save of the Month category.
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