Tottenham Hotspur flirted with the idea of signing Lucas Paqueta in the summer transfer window, sources have told TEAMtalk, and if manager Thomas Frank had got his way, then the Brazilian playmaker would have been lining up in Spurs colours this weekend instead of for West Ham United.
Spurs will take on West Ham at London Stadium in the Premier League on Saturday. The London derby between Tottenham and the Hammers is already shaping up to be a spiky clash, with Mohammed Kudus preparing to face his old club after switching to Spurs in the summer.
The match would have carried an extra charge had Paqueta been allowed to cross the London divide.
Sources have told TEAMtalk that Tottenham identified Paqueta as a target in the summer, with manager Frank of the opinion that the 28-year-old playmaker could be the kind of player to add guile and authority to his midfield.
TEAMtalk understands that Tottenham ran the rule over Paqueta seriously. For a spell late in the window, there had even been whispers that West Ham might be forced into selling the 28-year-old, who can also play as a winger.
Aston Villa came closest to luring Paqueta away from West Ham, but the thought of him walking out eventually unsettled Hammers co-owner and co-chairman David Sullivan.
Sullivan dug in, aware of the uproar it would cause to let one of West Ham’s crown jewels to strengthen a rival such as Tottenham or Villa.
A slow start to the season sharpened his resolve, and Paqueta’s strike against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground before the international break – celebrated with relish – was a pointed reminder to the West Ham fanbase that he was not going anywhere.
Meanwhile, Spurs have been left to wonder what might have been.
Paqueta would have been the kind of high-level operator to lift Frank’s project up a notch, but the reality is that the Brazil international is still in West Ham colours, with Spurs still seek another midfielder in the January market.
Instead of building around Paqueta, Tottenham’s immediate job is to contain him, as they try to bounce back from a frustrating 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the Premier League before the two-week international break.
West Ham know that they dodged a bullet in terms of optics – and Tottenham are aware they missed out on a player who could have transformed their midfield.
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