The seemingly never-ending soap opera involving Lucas Paqueta has taken a turn for the worse but West Ham do have security.
A dark cloud has been hanging over Lucas Paqueta and West Ham for nearly two years now.
Paqueta has been playing like a man with his mind elsewhere for most of that time too.
That has had a hugely negative impact on West Ham’s performances and results.
The spot-fixing case against Paqueta has made more headlines than his football talent.
The case alleges that West Ham’s Brazilian magnifico was deliberately booked on four occasions to illegally manipulate the betting market.
Paqueta has always vehemently denied the allegations against him, maintaining his innocence.
The club’s £51m record signing is West Ham’s highest earner on £150k per week.
So this has already been very costly for the Hammers and the player.
Paqueta was scheduled to learn his fate next month.
But the decision on the case will be announced by an independent three-person panel in the summer instead.
If found guilty Paqueta could be banned for life.
Expert’s major new Paqueta claim rocks West Ham
Last week new testimony in Brazil claimed Paqueta was deliberately booked playing for West Ham as a “birthday present” to his brother, Matheus Tolentino.
The report states that Matheus’ birthday is on March 12, the date of the match against Aston Villa.
Paqueta was indeed booked in that game at Villa Park for a second half foul on John McGinn.
Now an expert’s major new Paqueta claim has rocked West Ham but the club has security.
One man who has his finger on the pulse of all the goings on over in Brazil is journalist and South American football insider Tim Vickery.
The Englishman is based in Brazil and is well aware of the latest regarding the case in Paqueta’s homeland.
Worryingly for the Hammers, Vickery has told talkSPORT’s The Trans Euro Express that ‘the net is closing in’ on Paqueta.
And Vickery says he fears ‘it’s not looking good’ for the West Ham star.
“The net seems to be closing in,” Vickery said when discussing the fine details of the case and hearings in Brazil.
“I watched him grow because he grew here in Flamengo.
“And I watched him come up through the ranks with Flamengo.
“It’s very, very sad what I fear is going to happen to him, but it’s not looking good.”
Hammers have security in worst case Paqueta scenario
Should Paqueta be found guilty and be banned then West Ham will suddenly lose the opportunity to sell him – costing the club millions.
That is a grave concern for the Hammers given reports this week that the likes of Paqueta and Mohammed Kudus need to be sold this summer to raise funds for signings.
West Ham do have some recourse available to them, though.
West Ham can sue Paqueta if he is found guilty of the charges.
Chelsea did exactly that when striker Adrian Mutu was banned many years ago.
Clearly the ideal situation is Paqueta is absolved and either stays and becomes a key player under Graham Potter or is sold to help fund another rebuild.
West Ham face £20m blow but could have legal safety net
In the event of the opposite happening, suing the player is a rare and unusual step but one very much open to West Ham.
In order to sue Paqueta, if he is found guilty, West Ham would have to identify that his contractual breaches led to the losses they’re seeking to recover.
Clearly if Paqueta is banned for life then West Ham would argue it has denied them the chance to sell the player or having his services available to them for the last two years of his contract.
As a £51m signing on a five-year contract, a crude calculation would mean West Ham could essentially seek up to £20m back.
That is the amount of his transfer fee spread over the remainder of his deal and likely what West Ham would accept in order to sell him.
As that course of action is highly unusual, though, it could get caught up in lengthy and costly litigation and the Hammers may decide it is not in their interests to pursue it if there is a high risk it could fail.
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