Ex-Brazil star slams Lucas Paquetá at Flamengo: "He’s not decisive" | OneFootball

Lucas Paquetá was the target of criticism from former player Walter Casagrande this Wednesday (11)

Flamengo signed Lucas Paquetá for record amounts at the end of January, when they reached an agreement with West Ham (ENG) for R$ 260 million. However, in three matches for Mengão, the midfielder has yet to take off. As a result, former player Casagrande criticized the football of the number 20.

— In my view, Paquetá is a great player, but he’s not going to increase the power of Flamengo. He’s a different type of player. Can he fit in? Yes, because he can play as a second defensive midfielder or out wide on the right. (…) But he’s not a decisive player, someone who will raise Flamengo’s ability to decide matches — Casagrande began, in an interview this Wednesday (11).

— The expectations are very high, but his physical condition is still below par. It’s a combination: you have high expectations for the team, for the signings, because they won everything last year, and then the team comes in and can’t deliver what you think they should, because of physical and technical issues — he concluded.

WHAT’S THE SITUATION?

Lucas Paquetá made his debut for Flamengo in the match against Corinthians, for the Supercopa do Brasil, but missed a great opportunity at the end of the game. Shortly after, the player featured against Internacional and Sampaio Corrêa-RJ, but still without standing out.

WHEN DOES FLAMENGO PLAY?

Thus, with Lucas Paquetá available, Flamengo is preparing for the quarterfinals of the Campeonato Carioca. The rubro-negro team faces their rival on Sunday (15), at 5:30 p.m. (Brasília time), at Estádio Nilton Santos.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.