West Ham are now in a stronger position as a team following the departure of Lucas Paqueta.

That is the feeling of Dave Walker, who was speaking after the Brazil international returned to Flamengo following a long drawn out exit, with all parties relieved it’s now over.

“I’ve got mixed emotions about Lucas leaving,” started Walker. “On a human level I sympathise with him and believe he’s doing the best for himself and his family.

“However, the other side of me is resentful that after everything we have done for him as a club and a fan base he decides to force a move in the middle of a relegation scrap, rather than dig in and fight for this club he claims to love.

“He could have decided to leave at the end of the season instead. When all is said and done I feel quite numb about his departure – but remain convinced that we are stronger without him.”

Walkers Podcast co-host ExWHUEmployee also feels it was the right time for him to go, as the team can now be united in our fight for survival.

“I think the time is right for us to go our separate ways,” added Ex.

“I’ll be forever grateful for his contributions in our Conference League win and especially that ball for Bowen but the magical moments have got less and less in recent times.

“Whilst I appreciate he has been under a lot of stress the last few years I found his play more frustrating than productive and I think that we got a good fee for him too.

“Let’s hope we see that money reinvested into players who want to play and fight for us now.”