Former West Ham striker Frank McAvennie has admitted that Lucas Paqueta and Mohammed Kudus could both leave the London Stadium this summer.
The Hammers have certain players who feel indispensible currently, making a huge difference when they are playing and also being missed greatly when they are absent.
Paqueta and Kudus fall into that category, proving to be superb signings from Lyon and Ajax respectively, and it is no surprise that West Ham will be battling to keep hold of both in the coming months.
The former is an outstanding midfielder who almost joined Manchester City last summer, combining technical class and defensive brilliance, while the latter has scored seven Premier League goals this season.
Speaking to Football Insider, McAvennie said that Paqueta and Kudus could move on to pastures new in the summer transfer window, in what is a concerning update:
“I think we’ve got people who can score goals. We’ve got Kudus and Paqueta, keeping those two is the biggest problem for me, I fear they will both leave, that’s what I keep hearing. I don’t want to bring in two defenders but get rid of Kudus and Paqueta. We need to keep them, and get defenders.”
While new signings are paramount at West Ham this summer, keeping hold of Paqueta and Kudus, and Jarrod Bowen for that matter, is just as important.
In truth, it is easy to envisage Paqueta moving on, especially if City once again return for his signature, with the lure of joining up with Pep Guardiola’s treble winners too good an offer to turn down.
With Kudus, this is still only his first season with the Hammers, however, so it would be so disappointing to see him leave so soon after arriving.
The one positive with both players is that West Ham can demanding big money for them, especially as their contracts expire in 2027 and 2028 respectively, but retaining their services is still the far more preferable outcome.
For now, it is vital to focus on the remainder of this season, though, with Paqueta and Kudus both set to play significant roles in David Moyes’ side’s push for European football, not to mention their Europa League charge.
