The return to West Ham training of Michail Antonio, Tomas Soucek, and Vladimir Coufal caused something of a stir yesterday, and for all the wrong reasons.
A few eagle-eyed observers watched the training footage from West Ham’s pre-season camp in Florida and noticed the absence of a certain Lucas Paqueta.
This seemed to result in a few concerns among Hammer’s fans, speculating that all may not be well with the Brazilian playmaker. Fortunately, the confusion just seems to be a worry about nothing, because the player is due to join his teammates this weekend.
The concern was understandable given recent speculation that West Ham director of football, Tim Steidten, was planning a trip to Brazil to visit Paqueta. There had been reports circulating that the Hammers’ record signing was unhappy at being denied the chance to join Flamengo.
However, Claret & Hugh can happily confirm that all is well with the player, and he is understood to be looking forward to beginning training at the weekend. A high-placed West Ham source also confirmed to us this morning that recent reports had all been a fuss over nothing. Paqueta and Jarrod Bowen had both been given three weeks off following the completion of the Copa America and European Championships, respectively.
