West Ham Technical Director Tim Steidten has all-but confirmed that Lucas Paqueta will be playing for the club next season.
The Brazil international’s long term future not only at the club but in football in general has been one that has been speculated for some time, following betting allegations which were raised against the player last summer, as he was reported to be close to joining champions Manchester City.
With the situation still ongoing and now being charged by the FA, there have been question marks over whether Paqueta would be here for the new upcoming season – however today it appears that question has been answered by Stediten and Julen Lopetegui in their first joint press conference since the arrival of the new Head Coach.
“I visited Lucas in Brazil and talked to him,” said Stediten on Paqueta, as reporte by the clubs Official Wesbite. “We’re looking forward to having him back. He’s an important part of our team and a member of our family.”
Lopetegui added further to this, by saying that he is looking forward to having Paqueta available to him this season.
“We know Lucas Paquetá and his family have suffered a lot,” said the new boss. “But I liked seeing him smile in his last match, because he’s enjoying his football.
“We are his family, this Club is his family, and we’re going to take care of him a lot. We’re looking forward to having him play with us on the pitch.”
Lopetegui also talked bout his high ambitions for the club, making it clear that the plan is now to push on and build for the campaign ahead.
“We have big ambition to take another step here at this Club,” said the former Spain manager. “The fans always want to win. We believe we are going to be able to win more, if we defend and attack well.
“We want to take advantage of all our strengths. I look attacking football, but I also love counter-attacking, and we don’t need to think about one way. In football there are a lot of ways, and we have to choose our way.”