Why is the negotiation between Flamengo and West Ham for Paquetá difficult?

O Flemish dream about signing of Lucas Paquetábut negotiations with West Ham in the current transfer window are complicated. According to the English press, the Hammers turned down a proposal worth around 35 million euros (R$219.7 million) for the midfielder.

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Lucas Paquetá has a contract with West Ham until June 2027, but he would be willing to leave everything behind and sign with Flamengo. THE Lance! explains the reasons and why the operation in January was considered difficult, and also shows the asset that Rubro-Negro has in repatriating the Brazilian.

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West Ham sees Paquetá as a key player

West Ham currently occupies 18th place in the Premier League and is in the relegation zone to the Championship. The Hammers are seven points behind Nottingham Forest, who are the first club outside the relegation zone.

In the fight to escape relegation, West Ham sees Lucas Paquetá as a key player and does not want to get rid of him in the middle of the season. The number 10 is an absolute starter in the team led by Nuno Espírito Santo and has already scored four goals and one assist in the Premier League. The athlete directly participated in 22.7% of the Hammers' goals in the English Championship.

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Furthermore, West Ham does not feel the need to sell Lucas Paquetá now, as the player has a contract with the club until June 2027. It is possible that the financial gain in the January window will not outweigh the losses that a relegation could cause to the Hammers from one season to the next.

Flamengo has trump cards in its hands

With Lucas Paquetá's “yes”, Flamengo has an asset in its hands to negotiate with West Ham. However, Rubro-Negro must be patient, as the English tend to facilitate negotiations in the transfer window in the middle of the year.

With the season over, the Hammers will not need Paquetá to 'save the season', as they will already know whether they will be in the Premier League or the Championship. In the event of a drop to the English second division, West Ham must cut costs and it would be difficult to imagine the club turning down another robust proposal from Flamengo.

But even if it remains in the elite, the English club will find itself in a tight spot with Lucas Paquetá: the player will be linked to West Ham for just one year and will be able to sign a pre-contract with another team in January 2027 and would leave the Hammers free of charge. As a result, the need to negotiate a player will be greater at the end of the current season than now.

Flamengo has examples of other cases

In the last transfer window, Flamengo had to be patient and wait until the end of the European season to announce major reinforcements, such as Jorginho, Saúl and Samuel Lino, who were in Europe. In the January window, Rubro-Negro only hired Danilo, who was at the end of his contract with Juventus and was not in the plans of coach Thiago Mota.

Other signings from Flamengo's international market were only made possible during the European summer transfer window, such as Alex Sandro, Jorge Carrascal and Gonzalo Plata. Therefore, the word for Flamengo to take Lucas Paquetá from West Ham is patience.

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