West Ham could sign a world-class player for just £12 million if Lucas Paqueta does depart this Summer.

The idea of losing a player as talented and as entertaining as Lucas Paqueta is a painful one for West Ham fans. Unfortunately, the reality is that the Brazilian’s short time in East London could be coming to an end.

Obviously, if he does leave, the most important thing is using the £85 million from his release clause (it is hard to imagine that the Hammers would sell him for any less) extremely wisely. They did an excellent job spending the money they got from Declan Rice’s departure and it looks like they have their eyes on a big name in the event they lose their star player.

According to a report from Football Fancast, West Ham could look to sign no other than Paulo Dybala as a replacement. The Argentine never quite reached the heights that were expected, but that’s not to say he has not been world-class, he just never broke into that top tier of players.

In 19 league games for Roma, he has managed 19 goal involvements making him absolutely vital to the Italian side. Surprisingly though, there is said to be a release clause in his contract of just £12 million. Despite his repeated injury issues, this is an absolute steal for a player of his calibre.

At 30-years-old, he is slightly older than Paqueta but you would struggle to find a better replacement. Unfortunately, he may take some convincing as Barcelona are also said to be interested and, whether our Irons make Europe again or not will be a major sticking point. Either way, Tim Steidten’s ‘sale pitch’ has worked wonders in the past, there is no reason he could not tempt Dybala with the East London project.

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