West Ham United attacking midfielder Lucas Paqueta is on ‘different levels’ to his teammates, according to Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth.
The 25-year-old arrived at the London Stadium from Ligue 1 outfit Lyon in a club-record deal over the summer and has made an instant impact in his new surroundings with a string of impressive performances.
What is the latest news involving Paqueta?
Paqueta established himself in European football via a successful two-year stint with Lyon after an underwhelming 18-month spell at AC Milan between January 2019 and September 2020.
The Brazil international’s record of 21 goals and 13 assists in 80 appearances across all competitions at the Groupama Stadium led West Ham to splash out £51 million on his services.
And Paqueta has shown that he could prove to be a very sound investment for years to come and has already started to fulfil his ambition of showing the supporters his true potential.
"I am excited to pull on the West Ham shirt and show the fans what I can do, to help my team-mates and the club," he said upon his unveiling.
What has Sheth said about Paqueta?
West Ham backed manager David Moyes heavily over the summer, investing around £160m in signings following a second consecutive top-seven finish.
And Sheth has informed GiveMeSport that he believes Paqueta is ‘already a fans’ favourite’ following his strong start to the season.
He said: “He’s already a fans’ favourite at West Ham United. The West Ham fans that I know, that I speak to, go to games regularly, and they keep telling me he's on different levels; his touch is just fantastic.”
How well has Paqueta been playing?
Paqueta put pen to paper on a five-year contract worth £150,000-per-week when he arrived on English shores, and his underlying numbers indicate why West Ham were so eager to tie him down to a long-term deal.
As per FBref, the creative talent has ranked in the 97th percentile for tackles, 96th for pressures, 94th for clearances, 92nd for progressive passes, 89th for aerial duels won and 89th for progressive passes received amongst his positional peers over the last year.
In the current campaign, Paqueta has only racked up two assists in 10 outings for the Hammers while also averaging the joint-highest number of shots per game in the Premier League amongst his teammates.
Adding a more consistent end product will be the next step for Paqueta, and all the signs indicate he is more than capable of doing just that.