West Ham may not have seen the last of Flamengo after they complete the expected signing of Lucas Paqueta.
The Hammers are already sick of the sight of the Brazilian giants after the saga surrounding Lucas Paqueta and his desire to return to his boyhood club.
Flamengo have been linked with Paqueta since the summer but it was not until last week that they truly made their intentions concrete with West Ham.
The Irons reportedly rejected an opening offer of £32m for the 28-year-old with the club said to be holding out for closer to £42m for their £51m record signing.
Paqueta has left many West Ham fans disappointed with his actions given the club are fighting to stay in the Premier League.
West Ham won’t believe Flamengo’s new plan
Others feel his push to desert a sinking ship proves he should be moved on so West Ham can use the money to bring in players who want to be at the club.
According to sources in Brazil, Paqueta has been having secret calls with Flamengo’s manager since December and telling him he would push for the move in January.
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It is claimed Paqueta held a new meeting with West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo this week.
The midfielder did not train with his teammates afterwards and left Rush Green with growing reports that West Ham could agree to sell him to Flamengo by Thursday.
Logic says West Ham getting their desired fee and spending it on players who can – and want to – help them avoid relegation, is the sensible solution to the Paqueta saga.
But the Hammers may be getting another unwelcome call from the Black and Red in the not-too-distant future.
And West Ham won’t believe Flamengo’s plan to try and sign another Hammers star.
Coming in the middle of the already fractious and highly sensitive Paqueta situation and negotiation, the timing alone will be viewed as astonishing inside the corridors of power at the London Stadium.
Prominent South American journalist Mauro Cezar has claimed that Flamengo will go after new Hammers striker Valentin ‘Taty’ Castellanos next.
Flamengo want Hammers star Taty after Paqueta
Argentine Castellanos only signed for the Hammers at the start of the January transfer window in a £27m deal from Lazio.
He has impressed so far with his workrate and pressing while also scoring the winner in the FA Cup third round victory over QPR.
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But Cezar claims Flamengo are already eyeing Castellanos for a summer move should West Ham be relegated from the Premier League.
Victory over Spurs has breathed new hope and life into West Ham’s battle against the drop.
West Ham fans hope Taty will stay if the club are relegated
But Nuno’s side still faces an uphill battle with what is effectively a five-point gap to safety given West Ham’s terrible goal difference.
West Ham fans won’t believe what they are hearing as many hoped Taty may stay if the worst does happen and they drop into the second tier.
Given his relative obscurity until his move to West Ham, Hammers supporters felt Taty may be able to help the team bounce back to the top flight at the first time of asking if the worst does happen.
A bit like Aleksandr Mitrovic did for Fulham on a couple of occasions.
This feels like a big overreach from Flamengo at this stage and very much ambulance chasing.
Such opportunistic tactics won’t go down well with the Hammers board.
As a result, rather than opening doors, this alleged plan may only reinforce West Ham’s resolve not to sell Taty to Flamengo if they do indeed make a summer move.
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