- Tottenham vs West Ham is no place to discover Paqueta’s state of mind
Two weeks is a long time in football, and for West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta, much has changed in the last fortnight.
Cast your mind back to the Hammers’ 4-1 Premier League victory against Ipswich Town, and one could be forgiven for thinking that the Brazilian maestro was on the road to recovery.
Sure, it wasn’t a vintage Paq-Man performance, but he scored a goal, appeared to have a spring in his step, and seemed to be enjoying his football.
Unfortunately, since then, he appears to have gone from hero to irritant in the eyes of Samba national coach Dorival Júnior, while the Brazilian FA is now investigating his betting charges.
Added to this is the fact that the English FA has piled on more charges to an ever-growing list of alleged misdemeanours, and it feels like the net is closing in on West Ham’s record transfer.
Therefore, I would be tempted to leave him out of the team to face Tottenham in the EPL on Saturday and play Mohammed Kudus in his place. Paqueta may be mentally strong enough to handle the extra scrutiny, but he may also feel that his own country is turning against him.
Who could honestly blame the midfielder for being distracted, concerned about a lifetime ban, and the possibility of a very different future? While he is still in South America, it’s almost impossible to assess his state of mind, and for that reason, I’d take him out of the firing line.
A lack of options means Michail Antonio will have to start as striker, but I’d be tempted to deploy Summerville, Kudus, and Bowen just behind him to put Ange Postecoglou’s leaky Spurs defence to the test.
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