Lucas Paqueta hints at how he really feels about Nuno’s controversial West Ham decision

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Arguably the most contentious aspect of the Nuno Espirito Santo era so far has been his occasionally bizarre team selections. Lucas Paqueta, for instance, is just one of many square pegs forced into a round, ill-fitting hole.

Nuno selected the left-footed Ollie Scarles at right-back and put the right-footed Aaron Wan-Bissaka on the left during a 2-1 defeat by Leeds United. Forgotten man Andy Irving was thrown in, too without any real warning.

The sight of Irving starting as Freddie Potts, Soungoutou Magassa and even Mateus Fernandes watched on from the bench understandably had some fans fearing Nuno Espirito Santo had ‘lost the plot’. Fortunately, common sense appears to have prevailed as October rolled into November.

A bemused Tony Cottee would have been delighted to see Callum Wilson return to the XI. The veteran’s recall had the desired results too. Wilson scored the equaliser against Burnley as West Ham United won successive Premier League home games for the first time in thirteen months.

The inclusion of a natural number nine also allowed Lucas Paqueta to revert to his roving playmaker role once again. Clearly, his most suitable, effective position.

Lucas Paqueta hints at how he feels playing as a striker at West Ham United

Paqueta moonlighted as a centre-forward on three occasions this season. In those three games, West Ham picked up zero points and scored only one goal.

And that one goal – Mateus Fernandes opened his Hammers account with a late consolation at Leeds – came after the club’s number ten had dropped back into midfield once again.

In conversation with Globo Esporte, though, Paqueta reveals that he sees his perceived versatility as a gift, rather than a curse.

Brazil boss Carlo Ancelotti loves the flexibility the former AC Milan, Lyon and Flamengo ace brings to the party at international level. And while he is clearly at his most effective as an attacking midfielder with the freedom to create at will, Paqueta will not take issue should Nuno require him to perform more unfamiliar duties again in the future.

“I feel very comfortable playing in midfield, as a second striker, as a number ten behind the number nine,” Paqueta says.

“[Brazil’s] is a formation where I have several options to play, and that suits me. I think Ancelotti sees that too. As I said, I always make myself available to help the team, to play wherever [the manager] wants.”

As West Ham beat Burnley on Saturday, Paqueta played in a midfield three alongside Fernandes and Freddie Potts. With a pair of highly-energetic, full-throttle athletes alongside him – rather than the ponderous Irving or the now-sidelined James Ward-Prowse – Paqueta had the freedom to drop deep, drift wide, and go wherever he felt he could affect the game the most.

Nuno Espirito Santo revealed his plan to ‘improve’ Paqueta

Paqueta caused a few groans from the home fans with attempted flicks which did not come off, but Nuno will know that the rough must be taken with the smooth. By his very nature, Paqueta is a footballer who will always flit from the awesome to the awful.

The key, Nuno says, is putting their most enigmatic talent in a position where his innate-awesomeness is can be unleashed more frequently.

While he is ‘comfortable’ playing as a number nine when required, it is no coincidence that Paqueta has been a lot more involved and looked a lot more threatening with Wilson on the team sheet.

“We have to improve Lucas,” Nuno said in October. “We have to improve Lucas, to get the best out of him. He can do it, but he has to improve because I think we have the pieces to take the best out of Lucas.

“We have speed in front, so let’s try and find solutions so Lucas can deliver all the good things that he has. Jarrod [Bowen] is not a player who drops and drives the ball [forward]. We must get the ball there [in his favoured positions in attack], so he can do it. The same as Lucas.

“Which are the areas that Lucas can have an impact on the game?”

“I think, looking backwards at previous eras, Lucas’s importance to the team was tremendous. It was tremendous,” the head coach also said in an interview with DAZN Portugal.

“There are clearly the off-field factors which have not helped. I think there was too much noise around him, that now we have to calm down and ignore.

“We will surely make the best of Lucas. Definitely, yes.”

Hammers News can confirm, meanwhile, that owner David Sullivan rejected a £50 million Saudi Arabian bid for Paqueta ahead of the January transfer window.