Mohammed Kudus, Carlos Soler and Lucas Paqueta are all unlikely to play for West Ham United beyond the summer as the Hammers look set for yet another summer of turnover.
After a underwhelming start to the season, West Ham may have already made a decision on the future of loan signing Carlos Soler. The Spaniard signed for the Hammers on a season-long loan on deadline day with a reported option of buy of £27m. However, after a poor start to his time at the club and a lack of game time, a report from Claret and Hugh suggest the clubs are very unlikely to make the move permanent.
Another player that is very likely to be heading for the exit door this summer is Mohammed Kudus. The Ghanaian has already been linked with a move away with clubs in Saudi Arabia reportedly circling and Barcelona and Liverpool said to be heavily interested. A move to Liverpool would probably be the most likely, the Red may be looking at a replacement for Mohammed Salah if he chooses to not renew his contract at Anfield. The Ghana International has a £85m release clause in his contract, which West Ham will likely demand to be paid in full. This makes a move to Saudi or Liverpool more likely due to the state of Barcelona’s finances.
Finally, Lucas Paqueta’s future is still up in the air with the outcome of his investigation still undecided. If he is proven guilty, the Brazilian midfielder will likely miss at least a year of football, if not the rest of his career. Stefan Borson recently told Football Insider: He’s probably very nervous because clearly if he loses, it’s going to be very hard for him to play again, certainly in the Premier League. I think that would be basically impossible.”
The investigation has clearly been playing on Paqueta’s mind, he hasn’t been the same player since the new surfaced. New manager Julen Lopetegui might finally give up and drop the Brazil International. According to GiveMeSport, the former goalkeeper is preparing to axe Paqueta from his starting eleven in a “ruthless” attempt to galvanize a decent run of form which would ultimately save his job.
All three of these players are either unable or unlikely to start against Nottingham Forest on Saturday, so Hammers fans will get an early look at what life will be like without them. A wide pairing of Crysencio Summerville and captain Jarrod Bowen are brilliant alternatives. Summerville opened up his Hammers account against United on Saturday after coming on and changing the game, the Dutchman will be hoping to build on that.