Former Hammer Don Hutchison believes Graham Potter needs to rebuild his midfield options this summer after slamming the current selection.
Hutchison, 54, a midfielder himself represented West Ham between 119 and 1996 before returning to the club for an ill-fated second spell between 2001 and 2005.And he believes that key to the rebuild could be the sale of Lucas Paqueta - if the Brazilian can avoid a lengthy - or even lifetime - ban as a result of his longstanding FA charge.
"If there's ever a team in the Premier League that needs to rip it up and start again, it’s West Ham," began Hutchison, speaking with Gambling Zone. " I've never seen a West Ham midfield so slow in all my life.
"They're all pedestrian. Technically a lot of them are fine. They can handle the ball, but the energy's lacking in an area where everyone talks about pressing and closing down.
"Even at the back, they look vulnerable, and they look fragile. The centre-backs have not looked comfortable. They can argue that the protection in front of them is too slow, and that’s a feasible argument. But all in all, West Ham are just such a hard watch at the moment.
"Potter’s got it all to do, and he may need to hit a big reset button. It might be a case of selling Lucas Paqueta for big money so he can start again and have a rebuild. I think that might be the way to go.
"If I was Potter and his team, I’d be looking to try and ‘Moneyball’ it a little bit using top dollar from selling Paqueta. If you can get 60 or 70 million for him, you can fill that team with energy."
And one area in which Potter should search, according to Hutchison, is with the three relegated clubs of Southampton, Ipswich Town and Leicester City.
"They need that massive rebuild but there is a market there at the moment, it seems," he suggested. "There’s a lot of talented players on the teams that went down.
"A lot of young international players and future international players that could be kept in the top flight and Potter is the sort of manager who can recognise that and keep them in the Premier League. Potter and the analysis team at West Ham will have their eyes all over Europe as well.
"Maybe it’s best that they move Paqueta to Saudi Arabia or whoever will pay good money for him and start over. They can try and cherry pick those young and energetic players and get back to playing a pressing and closing down style game with those legs, and Bowen and Kudus as the two players you can build a new side around."
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