Once the injury update was out of the way, the conversation quickly turned to Lucas Paqueta as Nuno Espirito Santo previewed West Ham’s trip to Manchester United in the fourteenth match of the Premier League campaign.
And in typical Nuno Espirito Santo fashion, his response to the Brazil international’s latest suspension was mature, considered, and decisive.
Yes, Lucas Paqueta’s red card was ‘ridiculous’. Two bookings for dissent in one game is foolish enough. Two booking for dissent in a matter of minutes, as former West Ham United goalkeeper Rob Green put it, is ‘completely irresponsible’.
Paqueta’s explanation did not wash with the Hammers fans, either.
He may be entirely justified in feeling that he was not given the requisite support by the Football Association during the two-year spot-fixing charge which threatened to curtail his entire career, let alone ruining an £80 million move to Manchester City.
But that is no excuse for leaving your teammates a man light when there is still a valuable point to be earned.
Though Nuno, while insisting that Lucas Paqueta remains happy at the London Stadium, considers this to be water under the bridge.
Lucas Paqueta sent off for West Ham United
Photo by Ben STANSALL / AFP via Getty Images
Nuno Espirito Santo says Lucas Paqueta has apologised to his West Ham United teammates
The former Flamengo, AC Milan and Lyon playmaker will be unavailable for Thursday’s trip to Manchester United.
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Nuno confirms that Crysencio Summerville remains out, too. Meaning West Ham make the journey without two of their key attacking players at a time when Jarrod Bowen is in the midst of a seven-game goal drought.
But if Paqueta felt he was not given the support he needed from the FA, Nuno insists that this is absolutely not the case at West Ham.
Watch everything Nuno had to say before Man United vs West Ham
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“I spoke with Lucas. Lucas spoke not only with me but with all the teammates. First of all, he apologised,” Nuno said during his press conference on Tuesday afternoon.
“He is aware of his mistake. But as a club, first and foremost, we protect our own. We solve these things among ourselves. It’s clear that everybody understands that, in life, mistakes can happen. On a football pitch sometimes, emotions you cannot control. But at the same time, everybody deserves a chance.
“He’s not okay. He’s suffering. He is disappointed. He is sad, but he realised the mistake that he made. And he’s willing to move forward.
“This is what people sometimes are not aware of; all the problems that football players endure. But Lucas, I think, is going to overcome this situation.
“I think it is affecting him, but he’s willing to move forward, to try and put this aside and to continue to play football in the way that he does.
“What I can assure you is that here at the club, we have all the support that the players need. Not only Lucas, but all the players and the staff. We have processes in the club that help and are willing to provide assistance here in the club.”
Nuno says Paqueta happy at West Ham as he silences Manchester City question
The FA inadvertently cost West Ham an £80 million windfall when the charges were made against Paqueta in August 2023. He was on the verge of completing a mega-money switch to Pep Guardiola’s Premier League challengers at the time.
“I think that is over,” Nuno said when asked about that aborted move to the Etihad Stadium. “It’s finished, it’s clear.
“We did what we had to do. The squad supports Lucas, and this is what is most important, that his teammates support him.”
With regards to whether Paqueta is still ‘happy’ in East London, Nuno’s response was blunt and emphatic.
“Definitely, yes.”
Paqueta will return for Brighton clash after Manchester United meeting
Nuno, clearly, is not in the mood for holding no grudges.
The former Wolves, Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur coach insists that Paqueta will not receive any further suspensions or punishments from West Ham themselves.
He will return to the team as soon as he is available again. Away to Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday, to be precise.
How should West Ham discipline Lucas Paqueta?
Lucas Paqueta of West Ham argues with referee Darren England before being sent off against Liverpool
Photo by Kevin Hodgson/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
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“We move forward. Lucas is not going to be available against Man United, [but] he will be available in the next one.”
Hammers News were told recently that a Saudi Arabian club had made a £50 million bid for Paqueta ahead of the January transfer window. West Ham are expected to demand a lot more than that, though, if they are to sell such a key player in the midst of a relegation battle.
“It’s ridiculous to have your life and career affected for two years without any psychological support from the federation,” Paqueta wrote in what was a perhaps slightly-misjudged X post in the aftermath of the Liverpool loss.
“Perhaps this ridiculous behaviour is just a reflection of everything I’ve had to endure and, it seems, have to continue enduring!
“I’m sorry if I’m not perfect.
“I understand that now I have to come across as the villain. It’s hard to live with everything that was caused in my life and in my psyche!” he wrote, translated from his native Portuguese. “I’ll keep trying to ensure they don’t affect me even more.
“This doesn’t justify my expulsion and that’s why I apologise to the fans and my teammates!”
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