For the first time in a while, West Ham United fans have reason to be optimistic.
Nuno Espirito Santo seems to have found a system that brings out the best in his players and has already won two consecutive Premier League games.
Additionally, some of the star players who were a little lackluster at the beginning of the season are now starting to get back on track.
One of them is Lucas Paqueta, but there is also a former West Ham player sold by former sporting director Tim Steiten, who remains ahead of the Brazilian.
Latest information on Lucas Paqueta
It’s safe to say that last season wasn’t Paqueta’s best season for West Ham.
In the end, the former Lyon star made just 36 appearances in all competitions, scoring five goals and providing one assist, a pretty underwhelming result.
At one point earlier this season, it looked like things would be more or less the same, with the 28-year-old seemingly coasting through the game, apart from his incredible strike against Chelsea and penalty against Nottingham Forest.
To make matters worse, rumors emerged that he wanted to leave the club at the end of the winter period.
But the Paqueta-born dynamo was quick to respond by posting a photo of himself and his family at the London Stadium, which certainly felt like a statement given the timing.
That said, this could still be his last season, with transfer expert Fabrizio Romano revealing that a summer departure is still likely.
If this is indeed his last season in Claret and Blue, at least the mercurial midfielder is starting to come into his own again, scoring against Newcastle United and playing well against Burnley last week.
However, despite this rise, Paqueta has lost out to another midfielder who was sold from West Ham last year.
The former West Ham star outperformed Paqueta.
West Ham have seen a number of player departures in recent years, but one of the most talented players to leave was undoubtedly Pablo Fornals.
The 29-year-old joined the Hammers from Villarreal in the summer of 2019 and has since gone on to win the Conference League title with 23 goals and 19 assists in 203 appearances over the next four-and-a-half years.
But by the 23/24 season he had become more of a bit-part player, so when Real Betis came knocking for a spot in January, the Hammers were happy to let him leave for around £6.8 million.
Since then, the Spaniard has already made 69 appearances for Sevilla and even started last year against Chelsea in the Conference League final.
However, this season he achieved his best results in a while and was called up to the Spanish national team for the first time in four years.
He has played in 16 games this season, playing a total of 1,131 minutes, scoring two goals and providing four assists, which means he is involved in a goal every 2.66 games, or every 188.5 minutes.
For comparison, Paqueta’s four goals in 12 games and 1051 total minutes is worse than his average of goal involvement every three games, or every 262.75 minutes.
When you look at the basic numbers, this comparison weighs even more in favor of the Spaniards.
for example,”can’t believe itThe midfielder, named by journalist Karl Matchett, tops the most important metrics, including expected goals and assists without penalties, progressive passes and carries, passing accuracy, key passes and shot-creating actions.
Fornals vs Paqueta | ||
|---|---|---|
statistics | Fornals | Paqueta |
Expected G+A without penalty | 0.26 | 0.20 |
progressive path | 8.45 | 6.70 |
progressive carry | 1.64 | 0.57 |
pass accuracy | 84.3% | 75.1% |
key pass | 1.91 | 1.32 |
advance to the final third | 7.27 | 4.25 |
live pass | 60.5 | 48.0 |
Actions that create shots | 4.71 | 2.35 |
Action to create a goal | 0.63 | 0.09 |
All stats for the 25/26 league season (via FBref) | ||
Overall, he may not be as good a player as Paqueta, but Fornals has definitely surpassed him this season and is a player Nuno would definitely want to have in his squad.

