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| West Ham United's Lucas Paqueta and SC Freiburg's Nicolas Hofler during the UEFA Europa League 2023/24 round of 16 second leg match between West Ham United FC and Sport-Club Freiburg at Olympic Stadium on March 14, 2024 in London, England. |
Once again this season, Lucas Paqueta has been one of the stand out players for West Ham United.
It’s no coincidence that they didn’t win a single game when he was out injured but starting picking up points again once he was back in the side.
The Irons were on the verge of selling him to Man City for a fee believed to be in the region of £80m, but potential involvement in suspected illegal betting were made against the player, and that put paid to the notion of a switch to Pep Guardiola’s swashbuckling side.
Seven months later and the charges remain in abeyance, with Paqueta noting his cooperation with the authorities.
“I was instructed not to comment on this matter, but it has been seven months since this happened and I am cooperating to the fullest,” he said to Ge Globo.
Whilst it appears that the Brazilian authorities are struggling to find a link to the player, it’s believed that the Premier League are biding their time and won’t make a decision on any potential punishment for Paqueta until they’re right across the full facts of the case to be heard – if indeed there is one.
For now, the attacking midfielder needs to concentrate on doing what he does best, and that’ll hopefully help fire the Hammers towards more European glory.
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