Lucas Paqueta is becoming the elephant in the room at West Ham when he should be the best player on the pitch.
How do you solve a problem like Lucas Paqueta?
That is for new West Ham head coach Julen Lopetegui to find out – and quickly.
Paqueta has started the new season at West Ham how he performed for much of the second half of last season.
Lackadaisical on the ball, careless in possession at both ends of the pitch and often making the wrong choices.
Hammers fans who went to the Bayer Leverkusen away game were furious with Paqueta when he was stupidly booked – and lucky not to be sent off – despite knowing a yellow would rule him out of the home leg.
What angered West Ham’s travelling fans most that day, though, was Paqueta storming down the tunnel and failing to acknowledge them at full-time.
Hit by an official FA charge over his alleged involvement in illegal betting at the end of last season, the summer has seen all manner of speculation about West Ham’s Brazilian magnifico.
Talk he wanted to go back to Brazil with former club Flamengo was rife for some time.
Lopetegui and Tim Steidten both spoke publicly in support of Paqueta at the start of July.
Paqueta becoming the elephant in the room at West Ham
They said he was part of the Hammers family and would be looked after.
Lopetegui has moved Paqueta to a more central role this season. Four games in, it’s not working – yet at least.
West Ham were always going to be a work in progress under a new manager and with so many new players.
On his day there is no doubting Paqueta is one of the best around.
Not everything in football can – or should – be measured by statistics.
But for a player of Paqueta’s talent he should have far more than the nine goals and nine assists to his name in 62 Premier League appearances.
The 27-year-old put in a woeful performance against Man City last time out. He gave the ball away for two of Man City’s three goals and lost possession in key moments in attack too.
Paqueta is proving costly in more ways than one.
Revelation may prompt a change of heart over costly Paqueta
Costly in that he is West Ham’s highest paid player ever on 150k per week and remains the club’s record signing at £51m.
Costly in that he is giving the ball away and not producing a high enough output at the other end for a man of his quality.
There are mitigating factors of course. Under David Moyes – who never really knew what to do with him – Paqueta was put out on the wing.
Now under Lopetegui he’s in the middle but has been played alongside Tomas Soucek, who is not someone he can exchange quick, clever passes with at the best of times.
And of course he has the case hanging over him like the sword of Damocles.
Fans were audibly frustrated with Paqueta during and after Man City.
So much so his place in the team is even being questioned with many feeling West Ham’s actual best player, Mohammed Kudus, should be playing centrally instead.
Especially as he has made it clear that’s where he prefers to play.
But a new revelation may prompt a change of heart over costly Paqueta at West Ham.
Progressive Paqueta can still be difference maker for Hammers
Because Paqueta has made more progressive passes than any other Hammers players so far this season.
The playmaker has made 19 progressive passes.
It shows Paqueta is trying to make passes that matter, passes that hurt the opposition and break the lines.
He’s not just stat-padding with five-yard sideways or backwards passes.
Clearly he needs to work on where some of his progressive passes end up.
But factor in that he may soon have a midfield partner he can really play off in the shape of Carlos Soler and there is hope for Paqueta in the middle at West Ham.
There is no hiding the fact he must improve. He should be the best player on the pitch most weeks not once in a blue moon.
This important stat proves West Ham fans should not give up on Paqueta just yet, though.
The reward for patience could be handsome.
