Is Lyon's Lucas Paqueta worth the reported €65m asking price?

 

One of Lyon chairman Jean-Michel Aulas' greatest traits is to extract high fees for his most wanted stars. Since 2019, the likes of Tanguy Ndombele, Ferland Mendy and Bruno Guimaraes have all departed for fees in excess of £35m, a remarkable feat. There is potentially another big money sale on the cards for Lyon this summer amidst reports Lucas Paqueta wants to leave the French side. 

 

Paqueta was heavily linked with a move away from Parc OL in in January, but Aulas did reportedly demand €80m to cash in on the Brazilian. This'll partly be down to Lyon selling Guimaraes and the Ligue 1 outfit not wanting to lose two key central midfielders in the same window. 

 

As such, Aulas' stance has softened to an extent, yet the French supremo is still supposedly hoping to cash in for €65m. The issue now is whether the 24-year-old is even worth that. There's no denying that Paqueta enjoyed a superb Ligue 1 campaign. The Brazilian scored nine and provided an additional six assists and was a versatile option for Peter Bosz in midfield and attack. Indeed, while previously viewed exclusively as a number 10, Bosz also used Paqueta as a central midfielder in a 4-3-3 setup, with the former AC Milan star tasked with providing the drive from deep. 

 

To be fair to the player, he carried out this task well. Paqueta finished third for successful dribbles (81) in Ligue 1 last season as he carried the ball forward into dangerous positions. A success rate of 68.6% was the seventh best of the 80 players to attempt 50 or more dribbles in France's top tier last term, but as good as he was at carrying the ball forward, that he was at times robbed off possession so frequently is a concern. 

 

Only Ludovic Blas (79) was dispossessed more times than Paqueta (78) in Ligue 1 last season, which would be a worry for a team that does look to play the latter in a midfield three, though those numbers may be skewed in that he did play the number 10 role frequently for Lyon in 2021/22 where space is more at a premium that it is when playing deeper. 

 

 

Nevertheless, if he is playing in a 4-3-3, and he is robbed of possession, this would increase pressure on his team's goal, and that in itself could prove costly. Conversely, when off the ball, Paqueta isn't one to shirk the defensive responsibilities. Paqueta made 2.3 tackles per 90 in Ligue 1 last season, that level with Lens holding midfielder Cheick Doucoure and actually more than new Aston Villa signing Boubacar Kamara (2.2). So while the Lyon star may lose possession from time to time, he is more than capable of winning it back where required. 

 

His dogged defensive work does see him being reprimanded by officials on occasion, however. Only Benjamin Andre (67) committed more fouls than Paqueta (63) in Ligue 1 last season, but in turn the latter was only booked three times, and he didn't receive a single red. Paqueta is able to navigate the disciplinary tightrope with ease and this master-of-the-dark-arts approach would sit well with potential employers. 

 

While there are question marks over his overall distribution - a pass success rate of 79.6% wasn't great - this may be down to Paqueta actually taking more risks from midfield and opting against taking safer passes. For a player in his position, that 27.9% of his passes went forward in Ligue 1 last season was commendable to say the least as the midfielder sought to set Lyon on the front foot. While this may ultimately have contributed to a lower pass accuracy, fans would rather see such an attack-minded minded midfielder seek to take a risk rather than one that favours to keep possession for the sake of it. 

 

Having swapped Flamengo for AC Milan in January 2019, there were huge expectations that Paqueta would become a star on the European circuit, but 18 months in Italy saw his stock fall. During his time with Lyon, he has rebuilt his reputation away from the high pressure environment of San Siro, and in the process, re-established himself as one of the best well-rounded midfielders on the continent. 

 

Interest from Newcastle and Arsenal doesn't come as a surprise, with the former looking to see Guimaraes link up with Paqueta once more, while the latter are in the market for a goalscoring central midfielder, thus explaining links with moves for Youri Tielemans and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. 

 

Lyon are unlikely to command the reported €65m price tag Aulas has reportedly slapped on Paqueta's head, yet they are in a solid negotiation position following another strong season from the player, even after the club's seventh-placed finish. In the previous six transfer windows, Lyon have sold three players in excess of £35m and it may be that Paqueta becomes the latest big name player to depart Parc OL for a big fee.

Is Lyon's Lucas Paqueta worth the reported €65m asking price?