A profile of the West Ham midfielder

By Edward Otto

Lucas Paqueta holds up a West Ham shirt — Lucas Paqueta

This month we expand our coverage of West Ham United – both men and women. We welcome two new correspondents, Edward Otto and Piper Bradford-Reynolds from the University of East London Department of journalism, who will provide player profiles and a regular review of how West Ham are performing in the top flight of women’s football

Lucas Paqueta is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Premier League club West Ham United. Paqueta currently represents the Brazil national team.

His reason behind signing for West Ham United. He joined West Ham because he was left awestruck by the passion of the supporters in East London. Speaking to the club’s official website, the midfielder said: ‘’After we played West Ham in the Europa League, we all said as players what a fantastic stadium it was and how great the fans were and what great energy there was in the place.’’

Career prior to European transfers. At ten, he joined Flamengo, a professional football club based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Paqueta played with the youth team from 2007 to 2016 before getting promoted to Flamengo’s first team. He scored 15 goals in 67 appearances for the first team between 2016 and 2019 before moving to AC Milan.

West Ham. In 2019 he signed for the Hammers and is still there. He has made 39 appearances for the club and has scored six goals and has become a formidable part of the team’s strike force.

Strengths. One of Paqueta’s strengths is his ball control. The playmaker’s close control and quick feet allow him to navigate through tight spaces and retain possession under pressure. Another asset is his vision and passing range. The Brazilian possesses the ability to spot and execute precise through balls. A particularly memorable example was the pin-point accuracy of his ball through to Kudus who scored the second in the 3-0 victory over Wolves on 17 December.

Weaknesses. One of his weaknesses is the petulance he sometimes shows. He has been guilty of “showboating” and as a result he can lose the ball dangerously close to his own goal.

Another weakness is his end product. Perhaps he should be scoring more as his output is not great in relation to the number of goals and assists he has made.

Individual honours. Paqeta’s career includes some notable achievements:

• UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the year : 2020-21

• UNFP Ligue 1 Player of the Month : October 2021

• UEFA Europa Conference League Team of the Season : 2022-23

Moyes describes him as Maverick. West Ham coach David Moyes rates the Brazilian international very highly. The Scotsman described the attacking midfielder as a ‘’maverick’’ after the 2-1 Europa League win at Freiburg, even though his antics sometimes drive him mad!

Interesting facts. He has an older brother, Matheus, who also plays football. His nickname Paqueta refers to Paqueta Island and the eponymous neighbourhood he grew up in.

He is a big fan of funk carioca, a Brazilian dance resembling the samba,and sometimes imitates funk dance steps during his goal celebrations.

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