West Ham star Lucas Paquetá may not be expected to start in Brazil’s upcoming games, but is still getting huge compliments from the local media.
As reports in the past couple of days have been claiming that manager Fernando Diniz should a start a midfield with Casemiro, Bruno Guimarães and Neymar, many pundits have been expressing their thoughts about that selecion.
On ESPN Brasil, journalist Fernando Campos claimed it’s a matter of time until Paquetá conquers a place in the team, since the West Ham player has been doing great in the Premier League.
“Thinking about the future, there will probably be a return of Paquetá. For me, he’s the best Brazilian midfielder in the world,” said Fernando Campos.
“What he’s playing at West Ham, it’s a joke. I think so. At the moment, in this season, he’s playing a lot with and without the ball. It’s absurd, right? The influence he has on David Moyes’ team.”
“Paquetá is the best Brazilian midfielder active this season. He performs at a very high level at West Ham and stands out in the Premier League. Creativity, skill and combativeness. Influential in articulation and shows enormous marking ability. That’s why Guardiola wanted him.
“Paquetá has created more great chances than Bruno Guimarães and Douglas Luiz in the Premier League. He also has a higher average number of tackles than the other top Brazilians. He’s doing everything that’s required of a midfielder these days. A pressing machine and an articulate pass. Everything goes through him.”
The 26-year-old used to be in Brazil’s starting team, including at the World Cup. He lost his place in the last call-up, when manager Fernando Diniz took charge and left him out of the squad due to the betting allegations.
The West Ham player now sees Newcastle United star Bruno Guimarães holding his place, and that’s likely to be one of the big battles for a spot in the team.
