West Ham have signed midfielder, Lucas Paqueta from Lyon for £50.9m on a five-year contract.
Paqueta’s move comes after prolonged negotiations between West Ham and Lyon President – Jean-Michel Aulas over recent days, with the Hammers seeing previous bids rejected until a £50.9m agreement was finally reached on Friday (26 August).
West Ham will pay Lyon an initial transfer fee of £36.5m followed by £14.4m in adds-on and as part of the deal, Paqueta’s former clubs – Flamengo and AC Milan will also reportedly receive a fee due to various clauses in previous transfer deals for the 24 year-old.
Paqueta has signed a five-year contract until 2027 with option for his contract to be extended for a further season, which will keep him at the club until June 2028 if player and club opt to activate in due course.
Speaking about his move to West Ham, Paqueta said that he was “extremely happy” join the East London based club, which he hopes will provide “an enjoyable journey.”
Paquet also acknowledged the Hammers’ strong campaign last season as he added: “Last season, West Ham had a very good season and I hope they continue to enjoy more and more good seasons in my time at the Club.
“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.”
Moyes added that he was “delighted” to sign Paqueta who he described as “… a player I’ve admired from afar for a very long time and of course, we saw him close up in our Europa League campaign last season.”
The ex Everton manager however iterated that supporters need to let Paqueta adapt to English football, as he continued: “He’s a very talented footballer and whilst he will need time to adapt to the Premier League, we’re excited about adding another proven international to our squad.”
Paqueta began his career at Brazil’s Flamengo where he graduated through their youth ranks and scored 18 goals in 95 senior appearances, before he joined AC Milan in January 2019 but struggled to settle with just one goal in 44 appearances.
The Brazilian eventually joined Lyon in late September 2020 where he found his form again with 21 goals in 80 appearances, during which he played in both legs of Lyon’s Quarter-Final exit against West Ham in last season’s UEFA Europa League.
Paqueta represents Brazil in international football, having scored seven goals in 32 appearances since he made his debut in September 2018, as a substitute for his fellow compatriot and Premier League player – Philippe Coutinho.
The 24 year-old midfielder will wear the number 11 shirt and is in contention for his West Ham debut at home to Tottenham Hotspur in a London derby clash on Wednesday 31 August, at London Stadium in a 7:45pm BST kick-off live on BT Sport in the UK.
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