Twice during West Ham’s 3-1 win over Leeds on Sunday Lucas Paqueta showed why he is becoming such a firm fan’s favourite – before one maddening moment in the dying embers of the game demonstrated that even on his best days he can be an infuriating maverick.
But first, the good bits. Shortly after half-time, the Brazilian playmaker manoeuvered himself away from a white shirt with a pirouette that would have made Zinedine Zidane, perhaps the most famous exponent of the drag back move, beam in delight. And then two seconds later he did it again beyond another befuddled Leeds player, drawing “ooohs” from the crowd as he swaggered smoothly into space.
Later on, he provided the assist to extinguish Leeds’ hopes of a fightback with another inspired piece of twinkle-toed trickery. Paqueta beat two Leeds players to the ball with a determined burst of acceleration, flicked it intuitively around Marc Roca, then rolled the ball away from Rasmus Kristensen and into the path of Manuel Lanzini to score a tap-in in one slick move.
Admittedly some stationary training ground cones would have put up more resistance than Leeds’ hapless defenders, but it was impressive footwork nonetheless, demonstrating both Paqueta’s exceptional close control and sky-high confidence. Essential attributes for any Brazilian attacker.
“We brought in quite a few players and for me personally, not so many of them hit the ground running. But I think Lucas has been the one who has really, really come through now and shown it,” Moyes said after the game.
“It’s a good time for us because at the end of the season, we needed him. Making some goals, helping us get to a final and obviously, he performed really well today.”
Paqueta has shown glimpses of his undoubted quality ever since becoming West Ham’s club-record signing from Lyon last summer for a fee that could surpass £52m, but now he is doing so on a more frequent basis. He was excellent in Alkmaar last week, too technical and sharp for AZ’s midfielders throughout, and unfortunate not to score when rifling a shot off the foot of the post.
The 25-year-old is more versatile than perhaps West Ham fans might have expected him to be. He is a No 10 that can do typical No 10 things like create chances and dribble – he completed six take-ons against Leeds, more than the rest of his teammates combined – but he is not exactly a Brazilian playmaker in the traditional sense; he has attempted the most tackles (107) in West Ham’s squad alongside the combative Tomas Soucek.
Paqueta’s statistics across a variety of key metrics catch the eye. He is outright top in West Ham’s squad for tackles attempted and fouls, third for chances created and fourth for shots and dribbles per-90 minutes played in the Premier League. It is evident by those numbers that he is an integral part of the side in defence as well as attack, leading the press from the front while also trying to make the difference in the final third.
There is though one area of Paqueta’s game that clearly requires improvement: goalscoring. A return of five goals in 39 games in all competitions is not enough for a player of his quality. He has received more yellow cards (five) in the Premier League than he has scored goals (four).
On Sunday, he showed why his goal tally is not greater in that aforementioned maddening moment. As the clock ticked into the ninth minute of added time, Paqueta found himself completely free in Leeds’ half and descending rapidly on Joel Robles’s goal. Instead of trying to side-foot a finish into the bottom corner or else lash it into the roof of the net, Paqueta tried to tee up Declan Rice for what would have been his second goal of the game, but miscued it horribly to waste the opportunity.
“Still at times think, [he shouldn’t] do so much, and we’re trying to show him that, but he’s got it in his blood,” acknowledged Moyes in reference to that situation. “He always wants to make the hard pass, which is a good thing because it probably leads to a goal.” Except on that occasion.
That misstep did not prevent Paqueta from running away with West Ham’s man of the match poll, with 72 per cent of fans voting for him ahead of Rice, who might well have played at the London Stadium as a home player for the final time. Rice has been linked with Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United.
Should Rice move on as expected this summer, West Ham fans will need to find a new hero. Should Paqueta continue to adapt to English football and develop his game further, he is the obvious candidate to fill that position.