West Ham appear to have been left hamstrung after Lucas Paqueta’s response to bitter rivals Spurs trumping a bid from Brazilian side Flamengo for the playmaker.
The timing and nature of the reaction have complicated matters for the club, adding fresh uncertainty to an already delicate situation involving one of West Ham’s most important but divisive players.
Just when West Ham’s season didn’t look like it could get any more complicated, Lucas Paqueta has thrown a cat amongst the pigeons.
The club’s fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur are next up for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side this weekend.
The Hammers are so far adrift in the Premier League relegation zone that a positive result is desperately needed.
Lucas Paqueta responds after Spurs trump Brazil bid
But their fight for survival has been further undermined by Paqueta refusing to play as he tries to force a move.
After trying and failing to leave in the summer, Paqueta vowed this would be his final season with West Ham.
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That’s despite essentially having another two years on his contract including West Ham’s extension option.
When he was being linked with a move away in the summer both Tottenham and Aston Villa were among the Premier League clubs interested.
The Hammers were reluctant to sell and the Brazilian midfielder remained in east London.
Now it seems he won’t even play out his last season with the Hammers when they need him most.
West Ham chiefs have leaked that Paqueta is trying to force a move out of the club after refusing to play in the FA Cup clash with QPR.
It has been claimed the playmaker is desperate to leave in order to return to Brazil with his first – and boyhood – club Flamengo.
A sensational Chelsea twist gave Paqueta a major moral dilemma overnight after the star demanded to leave for Brazil.
West Ham hamstrung by Paqueta response to Tottenham
It is reported that some of those close to Paqueta have advised the 28-year-old to remain in Europe for the good of his career.
Now West Ham have been left hamstrung as Paqueta responds after Spurs trumped the Brazil bid.
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After registering an interest in signing Paqueta in the summer, Tottenham are back in the mix.
Spurs and West Ham broke a 14-and-a-half-year unofficial transfer embargo between the two rival clubs with the £54.5m deal which took Mohammed Kudus to north London in the summer.
Tottenham wanted Paqueta too, as did Villa in the last knockings of the window. But in the end he remained, reluctantly by all accounts, at the London Stadium.
Flamengo have made several offers to bring Paqueta back to Brazil, with reports claiming bids of up to £38m have been rejected by West Ham so far.
Overnight, Diario AS journalist Eduardo Burgos revealed Tottenham had made a superior offer to Flamengo’s bid after some of Paqueta’s advisors implored him to stay in Europe.
But Paqueta’s response to Spurs may just protect his reputation among Hammers fans – even if it does leave the club’s hands tied.
West Ham fans and owners will feel differently about what Paqueta told Spurs
Because he told Tottenham he has no interest in the move and ‘Paqueta was very clear about his next step’.
“He only wants a return to the Maracana,” Burgos revealed.
“Sources close to the negotiations even admit to having received an offer from Tottenham in recent weeks, one superior to Flamengo’s both financially and in terms of benefits for both the club and the player, but which the footballer himself rejected due to his desire to return to Brazil.”
While West Ham fans will be relieved they are not going to suffer the ignominy of losing another star name to Tottenham, the club’s board may not feel the same.
Not only has it denied them a better fee, according to the report, but Paqueta’s stance also limits their options for selling him to Brazil – and even further to solely Flamengo.
While very different players, it is interesting that Tottenham have suddenly moved to sign midfielder Conor Gallagher from Atletico Madrid for a similar fee.
It seems highly unlikely Paqueta will face Spurs in that crucial clash this weekend.
But Gallagher could well be making his debut in the game.
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