Former England and Manchester City defender Micah Richards has delivered glowing praise for West Ham United midfielder Lucas Paqueta after his display against Leeds United.
The Brazilian playmaker was one of the Hammers’ stars at the London Stadium on Sunday in the 3-1 win, with Paqueta providing a glorious assist for midfielder Manuel Lanzini to score the final West Ham goal in second half stoppage time.
Paqueta, who signed for the club for an initial £36.7million, potentially rising to as high as £52.6million if all add-ons are triggered from Olympique Lyonnais, has taken time to reach his best in a West Ham shirt, but has recently produced a string of sublime displays, helping West Ham seal Premier League survival and reach the final of the Europa Conference League.
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Following his starring role against Leeds, Richards, who as a player won 13 England caps and one Premier League title, was wowed by Paqueta and feels he is now playing at his best.
“Paqueta, he’s just on fire at the moment,” Richards told BBC’s Match of the Day 2 . “He had a bit of a slow start, we know how good he can be. Brazil nut once, then twice and then gets the assist for the goal.
“I don’t know how he gets out of this piece of space here, he’s just got wonderful feet, a little flick there. Just rolls him and you think what’s he going to do. A little pass? He just rolls him again and it’s just the composure. We’re talking about skill, we’ll show it again in slow motion, roll in the box. That is man playing with so much confidence.
He did [take time to settle], but you know the way sometimes West Ham set up, it can be defensive at times, but now he feels like he’s got a bit of freedom and they definitely look a better team when he plays like this.”
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