Lucas Paqueta has made an exciting prediction about West Ham star George Earthy following his first goal for the club.
David Moyes may not have been the only key man West Ham were bidding farewell at the London Stadium on Saturday.
Speculation has been rife that Lucas Paqueta may leave West Ham for Man City this summer.
So the 3-1 win over Luton may be his last action in front of the club’s home supporters.
If that was goodbye to Paqueta then it may well have been the hello to a player who can be one of his long-term replacements.
George Earthy provided one of the moments of the season when he scored his first Hammers goal to seal victory.
The boyhood West Ham fan, who had a season ticket from six years of age, says he has realised a dream by scoring in his second appearance.
Paqueta’s exciting prediction for new star
Made all the sweeter by the fact his debut against Fulham was cruelly cut short when he was knocked unconscious.
Earthy showed some fantastic touches and movement, combining both to slot home Mohammed Kudus’ cutback.
Before making his Premier League bow, the young midfield ace came on in West Ham’s 5-0 Europa League win over Freiburg for his actual debut appearance.
After that game Paqueta made special mention of the 19-year-old on social media.
‘What a player’ Paqueta commented alongside a picture of Earthy coming on.
Now the Brazilian has gone one step further.
‘Record that name’ Paqueta says about Earthy
Paqueta has made an exciting prediction about West Ham star Earthy.
Taking to social media after Earthy scored his dream first goal for the Hammers, Paqueta has made a bold claim.
“Record that name, George Earthy,” Paqueta said on Instagram alongside a picture of him with the Hammers starlet.
“Congratulations on the first goal! Ace,” he added along with heart and Hammers emojis.
That is some statement.
Paqueta is saying remember the name because he believes Earthy can be a top class player.
This is a man who has played at World Cups, in Copa Americas, in the Champions League, Brazil, Italy and France.
So it is very high praise indeed.
They say game recognises game, let’s hope Paqueta is right and West Ham have yet another top star in the making on our hands.
Game recognise game
Earthy is certainly off to a good start with that magic moment – which you can relive from all angles in the video at the bottom of this article.
He also had his manager raving about him too.
“He’s been special for a long time,” Moyes told Sky Sports in an interview you can see below.
“I think when you’re that size and you’re quite lightweight and the type of player you are, you need to give them time to develop.
“He’s a terrific football player he really is, it’s just if he can get used to stepping right up to the men’s football. But he has done, he’s come in (with the first team), he’s trained really well for the last four or five months with us. And he was always getting close to the team…
“Today he came on and got a goal as well, so it’s great for him.”