West Ham could be offered escape route as player 'desperate' to leave this summer

West Ham could be handed an escape route amid concerns over a player’s future. The Hammers have an interesting summer ahead, with Graham Potter needing to make big changes to his squad.

It has been a hugely disappointing start to life at the London Stadium for Potter, who has not managed any real improvement since taking over from Julen Lopetegui. The Irons have just two wins in their last 11 games, and they have been left in 17th place, although fortunately safe from relegation despite not yet reaching 40 points.

Potter will get to kick off next season, and with his own squad, but there will be much greater expectations come the start of the new campaign, especially after the disappointing results produced since the winter.

There is likely to be significant recruitment, but in an age of strict spending rules, the Hammers are going to have to make some room within their squad. Mohamed Kudus has been tipped as a possible departee, while another whose spot at the London Stadium is far from guaranteed is Lucas Paquetá. The attacking midfielder was once a hot name on the lips of a number of top clubs, but allegations of match fixing have played a big part in changing all that.

The delay in the case could mean that it is not settled until the summer, according to The Daily Mail, which is bad news for Paquetá, who maintains his innocence, vowing to clear his name. It’s also bad news for West Ham, given they don’t yet know if the player will receive a ban, but it might give them the opportunity to offload Paquetá before a decision is made, should they choose to go down that route.

According to Bolavip, Paquetá himself is actually desperate to leave the Premier League, reportedly keen to rejoin home country club Flamengo, and to the point of taking a significant pay cut. West Ham paid £36.5million to sign the attacking midfielder, but there have been reports they could sell the 27-year-old for just £20million this summer in a bid to cut ties.

Then again, any buying club will surely want to know the outcome of the case before they invest, and that could have a significant impact on the price. Paquetá’s form has been poor this season, which doesn’t help West Ham’s case, the Brazilian scoring four and failing to provide a single assist in 28 Premier League games.

Though, it is worth pointing out that West Ham have been a rather dysfunctional team this season, and few have been able to produce at their usual standard. Potter said of Paquetá when he arrived in January: "I think he’s the type of player who needs to feel how important he is to the team. He has to have that responsibility himself because he's very important for us, and how he acts and conducts himself is really important for the team.

"I can only comment on what I've seen, and I think he's been fantastic in his last two games. His work rate, and what he does for the team, has been of a really high level. As a result of that, he's got his reward, with goals in both games. I think he's the kind of player who you don't have to pin down to one specific role. He can do lots of different things, because he's that talented and has real quality."

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