Lucas Paquetá is likely to stay at West Ham in January but is keen to leave after next summer’s World Cup, sources have told ESPN.
West Ham would look to command a fee of around €60 million ($70m) for the Brazil international.
Paquetá admitted in an interview with Brazilian news outlet Globoesporte that he was very keen to return to his former club Flamengo last summer but did not force a move out of loyalty for West Ham.
Sources told ESPN that Flamengo were also put off by West Ham’s transfer fee demands.
The east London club stood by him amid a difficult couple of years that saw him charged with four counts of spot-fixing after a 10-month investigation, although he was eventually found not guilty.
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“The second moment [that he had talks with Flamengo], incredibly enough, was when I already knew I could continue playing normally,” Paquetá said.
“That’s when I felt even more of a desire to return to Flamengo. Maybe I shouldn’t even be saying this, but I had some conversations with [Flamengo coach] Filipe [Luís], who is a friend, in addition to the work he’s doing at Flamengo. I really expressed my desire to return and also showed it to my agents.”
Paquetá has four goals in 12 appearances across all competitions for West Ham this season as the club finds itself embroiled in a Premier League relegation battle.
