There’s never a quiet day at West Ham United, especially when Lucas Paqueta is involved.
Lucas Paqueta joined West Ham from Lyon in the summer of 2022 for a fee believed to be worth around £51 million.
His time at the London Stadium has been anything but dull, and he has been in the news yet again recently after he sustained an ankle injury in training following an innocuous challenge from Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
However, the real headlines surround Paqueta right now are concerning the charges he faces for alleged breaches of betting rules.
There are said to be fears amongst the Hammers hierarchy that Paqueta could be handed a lifetime ban if found guilty.
Graham Potter clearly rates Paqueta very highly, and the Brazilian is quite obviously enjoying playing under him.
The Hammers head coach will have to make do without him for around three-four weeks now though.
And the ramifications of Paqueta’s absence could be devastating for West Ham.
Brazilian media in utter panic mode about Lucas Paqueta
Paqueta has been a crucial player for his country over the past few years.
On the most part, he’s been ever present under Dorival Junior and Tite before that.
The Samba Boys face a vitally important World Cup qualifying double header against Colombia and Argentina next month.
Brazil are currently sitting fifth in the rankings, only five points clear of seventh placed Bolivia. That’s concerning for Dorival Junior and his players because only the top six teams qualify automatically for the 2026 World Cup.
Failure to beat either Colombia or Argentina really would throw the cat amongst the pigeons.
And the Brazilian media are in panic mode because Paqueta might be missing for those matches.
Brazilian website Gazeta Esportiva claims that the Brazil nation team have taken the Paqueta injury news really badly.
That just goes to show how important the former Lyon man is to his national team. And if Brazil need him that much, then so do the Hammers.
West Ham face monumental Lucas Paqueta problem
Despite the inconsistent nature of the 27-year-old’s performances over the past two-and-a-half years for West Ham, he has been brilliant since Potter’s arrival.
As far as individual performances go, he has been one of the few shoots of light for the Hammers.
And in typical West Ham style, we will now have to make do without him until late March.
Potter has to find an internal solution during Paqueta’s absence, and given his unique profile, that will be an almost impossible task.
Lucas Paqueta is an enigmatic, mercurial talent, and when he’s at his best, West Ham are a much better team as a result.
There is no doubting that fact.
So being unable to call upon him for the Hammers’ next few games will be a monumental blow for Graham Potter.
