The Hammers are looking to strengthen their case after a shambolic start to the new season and are hoping that Lyon midfielder Lucas Paqueta international can make a difference to the side. However, to lure the player away this late in the window could cost the Londoners a little more money than expected.
The Brazilian has been a pivotal cog in the Lyon side since joining them from AC Milan in 2020, scoring 21 goals across all competitions. He could solve plenty of issues for the Hammers, who have lost all the Premier League clashes thus far in the new season and are yet to score a goal.
They did register a 3-1 victory against Viborg in the Europa Conference League playoff, where new signing Gianluca Scamacca got off the mark for his new club. With the existing and newly promoted clubs making significant improvements to their squads, the current Premier League campaign will only get tougher with time, and Moyes is keen on bringing in Paqueta to strengthen the midfield.
In a conversation with The Athletic, Moyes said that a bid was in place for Paqueta, which is worth around 40 million euros. It will be interesting to see how the French club react to this bid as the window is less than a week away from closing.
“We have been saying, ‘We need that one (player) to make us a top-six team.’ That’s the difficulty we have found this season. Have I lost count of the number of bids? I’d probably say yes.
We’ve bid for a lot of players and if I told you who, you would burst out laughing and say, ‘You’re kidding,'”
the Scotsman revealed.
Interestingly, Paqueta was long-linked to a high-profile move to Newcastle United, where his former Lyon and current Brazilian teammate Bruno Guimaraes has already settled in. That move never transpired as both the clubs couldn’t reach an agreement on the transfer fee.
In recent months, West Ham also tried to capture players like Kalvin Phillips and Hans Vanaken.
