There is understandable West Ham concern as star man Lucas Paqueta suddenly changes agents amid £70m Newcastle transfer claims.
When West Ham signed Lucas Paqueta last summer, Premier League rivals Newcastle United were also being heavily linked.
It was not just a passing interest from Newcastle in the Brazil star, though. And the interest went both ways.
As far as ‘come and get me’ pleas go, Paqueta’s to Newcastle last year was pretty blatant.
It was not so much a fluttering of the eyelids in Eddie Howe’s direction but more full on twerking. And fans of West Ham and Newcastle know Paqueta can certainly dance.
In the end, though, the Brazil midfielder signed for West Ham in a record £51m move, much to the excitement of Hammers fans.
Last season Howe admitted that he wanted to sign Paqueta last summer but conceded the deal proved beyond Newcastle, who needed their funds to sign striker Alexander Isak.
Chronicle Live claims Paqueta and his agent were open to a move to Newcastle when it became obvious his time at Lyon – where he played alongside best friend Bruno Guimaraes – was coming to an end.
“As “come and get me” pleas go, Paqueta went as far as he could at the end of last season by taking a tour of the city with his close pal and even donning a Newcastle kit in Bruno Guimaraes’ garden for an end of term kickabout,” Chronicle Live reports.
With that as background – and with Newcastle now in the Champions League – West Ham fans were perturbed when shock rumours of a £70m bid from the Magpies for their Brazilian magnifico emerged this week.
The timing of that link looked like it was engineered to help push AC Milan into thinking Newcastle might take the money off the table in their move for midfielder Sandro Tonali.
Now there is West Ham concern as star man Paqueta suddenly changes agents after the Newcastle transfer claim.
The midfielder has parted company with the agents who brokered his move to West Ham and signed up with a Brazilian representative instead.
Claret and Hugh claims ‘there are worries Paqueta may be looking for a West Ham exit’ with his actions.
“We were told exclusively this afternoon that Paqueta had decided and completed a new deal with a Brazilian agent and that various clubs were interested in the midfielder who is on a five year deal until 2027 with a year’s option attached,” the report states.
Having Paqueta – who was unplayable at times in the last few months of the season – had given West Ham fans hope for next season in light of Declan Rice’s imminent departure.
So the suggestion he might be looking to leave amid the Newcastle rumours is very unsettling indeed.
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