West Ham are likely to have been blindsided by the recent Lucas Paqueta news, but that’s not likely to affect their potential pursuit of two transfer targets.
David Moyes is slowly but surely seeing the club getting deals over the line for players, and with just under two weeks left of the summer window, there’s a strong likelihood that there’ll be more incomings.
Paqueta’s situation – he is being investigated by the Football Association for betting rule breaches per BBC Sport sources – is unclear.
Whether Moyes plays him in the interim period or not shouldn’t dictate whether he decides to bring in another player in his position, given that the Hammers will need strength in depth with a Europa League campaign ahead.
‘For Jesse Lingard, West Ham are not discussing a contract at this stage,’ Fabrizio Romano wrote in his exclusive CaughtOffside Substack.
‘And with regards to Cole Palmer, for sure the Hammers remain interested but Manchester City will only accept a deal under their conditions. Not easy.’
After gaining a point against Bournemouth in West Ham’s opening match of the 2023/24 Premier League season, Moyes will be hoping that a first home game of the campaign against Chelsea can bring the east Londoners three points.
Just as important as getting wins on the board is having a settled dressing room.
Until their transfer business is concluded, both from an incoming and outgoing perspective, West Ham won’t have that, so the sooner that the powers that be can make their decisions, the better.