As good as West Ham have been in 2023/24 they’re still not the finished article, and that could be the reason why arguably their best player is still likely to leave them at some point soon.

Ahead of a tricky Premier League test at Aston Villa, David Moyes’ side are sat pretty in eighth place and just three points behind Newcastle in fifth – and with a game in hand.

Unai Emery’s Villains are level with the Magpies, so a Hammers win would see them leapfrog their opponents.

It’s a fair bet that Lucas Paqueta will have a say in how the visitors play, though how much longer Moyes will be able to call on his services is unknown.

Journalist, Dean Jones, believes that a switch to reigning Premier League champions is pretty much a foregone conclusion.

“I don’t think that he’s missed the boat on this one just yet. I think that Manchester City are still interested in Paqueta and he’s done himself absolutely no harm by reflecting and responding to that failed transfer, by putting in such brilliantly consistent performances at West Ham,” he said to Give Me Sport.

“I would go as far to say he’s been one of the players of the season across the league so far, definitely West Ham’s player of the season so far. And so with that in mind, he’s done himself no harm at all in terms of staying in Man City’s thoughts for next year.

“It’s an area of the pitch that Man City continue to consider in terms of how they go about building it. And I think that Paqueta is definitely somebody that remains on their radar. And for all the while that he’s going to continue to be ambitious, he’s got to aim for the very top, which is Man City.”

It’s been some while since any allegations of betting impropriety was made against the player, and as of this moment those are still being held in abeyance.

Given that West Ham appeared happy to sell the player to City before those allegations arose, one can assume that the status quo remains as long as their valuation of the player is met.

Paqueta may well fill his skillset is deserving of a bigger stage but as Jones notes, he has remained entirely professional despite the rumours.

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