If West Ham’s year is encapsulated by one player it is without doubt the club’s record signing Lucas Paqueta.
The Hammers have so much talent and promise and should be producing miles better than they have been.
Just like their Brazilian ‘magnifico’ Lucas Paqueta.
The problem is Paqueta is not so magnifico for West Ham nowadays.
There is no escaping the fact Paqueta has been in woeful form for the Hammers throughout 2024.
Most have in fairness, but because he’s so outrageously talented it stands out like a sore thumb when he underwhelms.
The truth of the matter is that much better is expected from a player of his immense talent.
Particularly given Paqueta is West Ham’s highest earning star ever on £150k per week.
In mitigation – for now at least – the 27-year-old has the weight of the world on his shoulders with the ongoing case against him.
It is due to be heard in around March and will decide the fate of his career.
The case is hanging above Paqueta’s head like the sword of Damocles. And he’s been playing like it too.
Staggering £67.8m Paqueta revelation at West Ham
Time will tell whether that has been self-inflicted or not.
The player has repeatedly – and vehemently – insisted it is not and he is innocent of the spot-fixing allegations against him.
What West Ham fans care about most, though, is his form on the pitch.
And bar what now appears to have been a freak display in a 2-0 win at Newcastle, there’s not much for them or Paqueta to point to.
Paqueta’s place in the starting line-up is now seriously in question.
Julen Lopetegui dropped Paqueta in favour of the painfully slow and immobile Edson Alvarez for the must-win game at Leicester.
West Ham duly lost and Lopetegui’s job is now very much on the line.
Can the Hammers really afford to keep a player like Paqueta on the bench, though?
Because a staggering £67.8m Paqueta revelation leaves West Ham’s David Sullivan facing sleepless nights.
If it feels like Paqueta can and should be doing so much better, it’s because it is true.
But even Paqueta’s biggest critics won’t believe just how farcical his situation is.
Sullivan facing sleepless nights over Hammers cash drain
When the Brazilian came on against Leicester it was officially his 100th appearance for West Ham United.
In that time, he has scored just 15 goals and provided only 14 assists in all competitions.
That’s a goal involvement every three and a half matches.
For a player of Paqueta’s immense talent, 29 goals and assists at a ratio of just under one in 3.5 is distinctly average.
It gets worse, though, when you break down his contribution – or lack of it – in terms of value for money.
Paqueta signed for West Ham in August 2022 – 28 months ago.
On £150k per week, that means Paqueta has collected £16.8m in wages alone in that time – before bonuses.
Paqueta has cost West Ham £2.3m per goal contribution
Factor in his £51m transfer fee and it brings the total – so far – to a whopping £67.8m.
That works out to a shocking £2.3m per goal involvement.
Many might argue Paqueta was worth all this money for that pass in Prague which saw West Ham win their first trophy in 43 years.
It’s a compelling case.
Whether Sullivan and the board see it that way is another matter.
He didn’t become a billionaire by being careless with money.
So this kind of return on investment will be paining the majority owner.
That breakdown will not be on the radar of many given everything else that’s going on at the club.
But Paqueta simply must find a way to up his game and give back to West Ham.
He quite literally owes it to the club to do so.
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