Lucas Paqueta has stated that he is now finding his rhythm at West Ham and believes he’ll keep improving to terrorise the opposition sides.
Style and rhythm flow through Lucas Paqueta, whether that be with his celebrations or his football, he’s finally becoming the player West Ham thought they were getting. With it being the most crucial part of the season, the Brazilian couldn’t have found a better time to hit form.
Paqueta has been constantly improving as the season has gone on but these last few games he’s been nothing short of breathtaking. Him and Rice have come to form a great duo and they’ve dominated the midfield. Against Arsenal, Paqueta’s passing and presence was vital to West Ham’s comeback from 2-0 down. At Home to Gent, following him making a mistake that led to the Hammers going 1-0 behind, you could see he was determined to have an impact on the game, bagging a goal from the penalty spot and registering an assist. Most recently, his performance in the 4-0 thrashing away to Bournemouth was absolutely world class. He rose high to meet Coufal’s cross and scored a beautiful header.
His Brazilian flare is something West Ham fans adore. It’s clear to see, especially in the Bournemouth game, his passing is second to none. He has an awareness of his teammates that allows him to do stylish flicks which are near impossible to read. The East London side have long been looking for a player who can open teams up the way Payet did, while they are very different players, they may have finally got that from their record signing.
‘It was a great game,’ Lucas said when speaking to West Ham TV . ‘we managed to secure a really good result, four goals. I was very happy to get on the scoresheet and help West Ham get all three points.’
He puts West Ham’s good form down to the players finally building good chemistry. ‘I feel the players are understanding each other more and more on the pitch. It’s normal that, with time, the players get the hang of each other.’ He confirmed that he is ‘very happy to be helping out my teammates and West Ham as a whole.’
‘I can safely say that I am adapting,’ he stated when asked about his recent improvements. He did admit that ‘it took some time to identify myself with the pace of the Premier League, the physicality, but I believe I am now 100 percent adapted and I hope to get better and better and give my all each time I step out onto the field.’
At the start of his West Ham career, some expressed concerns over his lack of goal involvements and this is a concern Paqueta confessed he shared as well. ‘I’m happy the goals have finally come. I hope it continues like this,’ adding that ‘it was something that was playing on my mind, wanting to score at our stadium, in front of our fans.’ He was ‘delighted’ to get his first goal at the London Stadium against Gent which was signed off with his signature dance.
With West Ham fans finally having something to cheer about in recent weeks, everyone is hoping that this season can go down as a historic one for the Hammers. Paqueta made it clear the importance of finishing strong, saying ‘without a doubt we want to win the Conference League.’ With the semi final fast approaching, the midfielder expressed the squad’s desire to ‘mark our name in the history of West Ham.’ There’s been a lot of disappointment for him and West Ham as a whole this season, let’s hope he can help his side dance their way to the East Londoner’s first trophy since 1980.
Written by Charlie Bass
