Lucas Paqueta is expected to stay at West Ham this summer despite links to Manchester City.

The Brazilian has quickly become a fan favourite in East London and he wrote his name into West Ham’s history with a brilliant through ball to Jarrod Bowen, in the dying minutes of the Conference League final.

Admittedly, Paqueta did get off to a slow start but once it clicked there was no stopping him. His passing, skill and overall footballing ability really shined at the end of last season so it’s no surprise that the best team in the world have shown serious interest in him.

Fans were starting to accept that the playmaker’s time in claret and blue may have been coming to a premature end.

However, it recently broke that Lucas was being investigated for an alleged betting scandal shortly after City withdrew their interest in the player. The allegations surround a yellow card that he received at home vs Aston Villa last season where he dived in for a challenge which, in all honesty, wasn’t needed.

While it seems pretty damning for Paqueta when you consider it was reported to be from family members, it’s important to note a few things.

Firstly, Paqueta is always making risky tackles, it’s one of the reasons he’s so loved amongst fans. He has a desire to fight for every single ball and sometimes he does give away fouls. So, in context, it’s nothing out of the ordinary for him.

Secondly, as our own ExWHUEmployee stated, it’s incredibly hard for these allegations to be proved even if they were true, which we have no way of knowing. To back this up the hearing was meant to be on Monday but the FA had to delay it for three weeks as they have no evidence to submit.

The likelihood of any serious punishment is very low due to this. Again, to reiterate, he is innocent until he is proven guilty and there is nothing currently to say he is guilty whatsoever.

That still leaves one question to be answered: how will Paqueta react to the allegations and his move to Man City all but off? The answer is pretty well from the looks of it. Some were expecting him to not be involved in the Bournemouth game, due to his head turning, but he remained professional and put in an excellent performance.

Then he did the exact same against Chelsea, that’s not to mention the passion he showed when he scored his penalty. Throwing up the Hammers sign and letting out a scream of joy, it’s safe to say he’s happy to keep working as hard as he can for this club.

Overall, Paqueta has shown what a true gentleman he is. Any player would want to play for a club like City but he’s not let that deter him from doing the best he can for West Ham. If he is to move to the Manchester club next summer, which is a real possibility, he certainly will still have the respect of the Irons.

It seems unlikely at this stage that anything will come of the allegations but, no matter the result, our Brazilian magnifico can rest assured he has the backing of the fans every single time he pulls on that shirt.

By Charlie Bass