FA opens investigation on West Ham United star Lucas Paqueta for betting breaches, puts halt over his Manchester City transfer

The Hammers face a 'massive' season ahead of them.

FA opens investigation on West Ham United star Lucas Paqueta for betting breaches, puts halt over his Manchester City transfer

Lucas Paqueta (via TheAthletic)

West Ham United midfielder Lucas Paqueta is being investigated over betting breaches, according to the Daily Mail. This news has brought a halt to his possible transfer to the Etihad. We saw a similar case with Ivan Toney who was charged with 232 breaches of the FA’s betting rules.

Man City had been looking into Lucas Paqueta to bolster their midfield. With the departure of İlkay Gündoğan from the team and Kevin De Bruyne‘s recent injury, a player of Lucas’s ability would help maintain Pep Guardiola‘s dominance. However, the transfer will most likely be called off as the FA takes such breaches quite seriously. Ivan Toney is banned for 8 months from the FA. A similar fate awaits the Brazilian midfielder if he is eventually found guilty.

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Declan Rice‘s departure to Arsenal and Paqueta’s imminent ban is a major cause for concern. West Ham’s poor season was plastered over by their UEFA Conference League success. West Ham who just finished 8th last season with 11 wins under their belt scored and lost over 20 games last season. Only one less than relegation side Leeds United.

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Summer signings James Ward Prowse and Edson Alvarez hope to prevent last season’s mistakes however a possible ban of Lucas means this is ‘one step forward one step back’ situation. The Hammers will face Chelsea and Brighton in their next two fixtures. With the absence of their midfield duo of Rice and, now, maybe Paqueta, it might be a rough couple of months for the London club.

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A season to look forward to for West Ham?

West Ham lift UECL
West Ham lift UECL. (Source: Getty)

West Ham faced a tumultuous time last season. Now, the fans feel what could be the fate after losing their best player and captain, Declan Rice. So far the summer signings look very carefully maneuvered around. Players who left the club include Declan Rice, Manuel Lanzini, Gianluca Samacca, Nikola Vlasic, and Arthur Masuaku. While Edson Alvarez, James Ward-Prowse, and Divin Mubama are the only 3 signings so far.

At first glance, West Ham have let go of more players than they have acquired. Danny Ings and Michael Antonio have a combined goal tally of 13. Divin Mubama has been promoted from the youth squad and is largely untested as a forward. With the departure of Samacca, West Ham should be looking to invest in their attack but have instead focused on bolstering their midfield.

Albeit the fans will be looking forward to the Europa League. A good run in Europe and the domestic cups could buy David Moyes more time as the Scottish manager will not want a repeat of last season.

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