The video evidence is pretty un-ambiguous. During West Ham‘s second half capitulation to Liverpool yesterday, Lucas Paquetá demonstrated pretty clearly that he is in no state to be selected for the Hammers’ starting line up. His invisible performance was punctuated only by a ‘falling over’ of embarrassing proportions which went ignored by the referee and his own team-mates much as one ignores a toddler faking a tantrum for attention.
His lack of involvement in the game was shocking. West Ham’s most expensive player on the pitch has become an ineffective shadow of his former self.
Worse, however, was his attempted forearm smash aimed at Liverpool’s Jota. Fortunately, so inept is Paquetá at the moment that he couldn’t even connect with that.
It is doing the rounds on social media and the FA can apparently decide to punish him in retrospect. Go check it out, 84th minute, Liverpool breaking away, (Paquetá had given the ball away, I believe) Jota, being too fast for Paquetá, narrowly escapes being smacked in the back of his head by Paquetá’s deliberate scything elbow. The Liverpool forward deserves credit for staying on his feet, ignoring Paquetá and running away to score Liverpool’s fifth.
Paquetá’s ability to contribute at West Ham right now is compromised. Lashing out in that manner surely displays an amount of frustration and angst that is a ticking time-bomb.
The Brazilian should not be anywhere near Lopetegui’s team sheet. He’s short on skill, long on liability just now. Let him go train with the under 21’s whilst he prepares for his FA hearing in March. And frankly, if a Brazilian club want him on loan – just send him on his way so as he can go learn how to play again.
