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Aston Villa will get the opportunity to freshen up their ranks in the January transfer window
Aston Villa urged to sign West Ham star Lucas Paqueta
Aston Villa have been urged to sign West Ham playmaker Lucas Paqueta by their former scout Mick Brown. The attacking midfielder, 28, has been on the books at the London Stadium since 2022. He is a Brazil international with 59 caps to his name.
Brown has delivered his verdict, as per a report by Football Insider: “Lucas Paqueta is a very talented footballer. I think he lost he way a bit, with everything that’s been going on over the last couple of years, but there is no doubting his talent when he’s at his best.
“He’s one of West Ham’s best players and can do things their other players can’t. The problem now is, if he wants to leave, there is going to be interest in him. I expect Aston Villa will be keeping an eye on his situation because they came close to signing him in the summer, but it didn’t happen for one reason or another.”
He added: “I can see him doing well at somewhere like Villa, so they could come back in for him. If he’s still thinking about that Man City move, I don’t think that interest is still there, and they certainly won’t be willing to pay they money they were before.
“Since then, they’ve bought the likes of [Rayan] Cherki, [Tijjani] Reijnders, and they’ve got a lot of talented wide players, so I can’t see there’s any space for him there. I think that move to Villa would be most likely if he does leave West Ham, but that is a big if because they’re not going to want to lose him.”
Where would West Ham’s Lucas Paqueta fit in at Aston Villa?
The Rio de Janeiro-born man has made 131 appearances in all competitions for West Ham and has scored 22 goals, four of which have come in this campaign. He is under contract with the Hammers until June 2027. That means they are under no pressure to sell him just yet and can wait for the right offer to come in for his signature.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s men are in the relegation zone along with Wolves and Nottingham Forest. Prior to his switch to London, he spent time at Flamengo, AC Milana and Lyon in Brazil, Italy and France respectively. He found the net on 21 occasions in 80 outings for the latter.
Aston Villa’s upcoming opponents Bournemouth have been in eye-catching form this term. They find themselves in 5th place in the league and are in joint-3rd with Liverpool and Sunderland. The Cherries were beaten 3-1 by Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in their last outing so will want to bounce back as soon as possible.
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