‘This is the Lucas Paqueta I thought I was getting for £51m’ says David Moyes as the Brazilian magnifico shines again for West Ham.
When West Ham made silky Brazil midfield star Lucas Paqueta their club record signing nobody expected to see him rising like a salmon to power home a header at the far post that Andy Carroll would have been proud of.
But Hammers fans did expect to see a player who could sprinkle some star dust over proceedings and take West Ham’s play and passing to a different level.
Well yesterday against Bournemouth, West Ham got both.
Paqueta was head and shoulders the best player on the pitch at the Vitality Stadium as West Ham romped to a 4-0 win.
Fans have been left scratching their heads during international breaks
The victory puts West Ham on the brink of safety and comes after Paqueta also shone in the 4-1 victory over Gent which set up a second consecutive European semi-final for the Hammers.
Paqueta has failed to consistently show that he can can adapt to the pace and tempo of Premier League football and make an impact for a team like West Ham.
Football fans have been left scratching their heads at times this season when watching the former Lyon man stand out for Brazil during international breaks.
But over the last couple of months there has been clear and steady improvement.
Penny has finally dropped for Paqueta
And the penny has clearly dropped for Paqueta and the team over the last week.
‘This is the Lucas Paqueta I thought I was getting for £51m’ says David Moyes as the Brazilian magnifico shines again for West Ham.
Speaking after the Bournemouth win, Moyes admitted Paqueta has had a bit to prove after an difficult debut season.
But the Scot feels people are now seeing why he paid a record fee to bring him to east London.
‘This is the Lucas Paqueta I thought I was getting for £51m’ says David Moyes as Brazilian magnifico shines again for West Ham
“We bought in a lot of new players to develop and become better in certain aspects,” Moyes said in his post match press conference (Football.London).
“A lot of it, to be honest, hasn’t worked as well as we’d have liked. I thought today for example, what we saw from Lucas Paqueta is you’re seeing that he’s beginning to show, got us a really good goal.
“Probably how he played today was what we thought we had bought (when we signed him from Lyon).
“Over the rest of the season, we’ve not quite as much as that. I thought midweek, he played very well.
“I think he’s got a wee bit to prove at the moment, but I thought he played very well today.”
He is coming good at just the right time. Long may it continue.
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