Potter confident 'incredible' Paqueta will remain at West Ham amid Villa reports

Graham Potter saluted "incredible" Lucas Paqueta and is confident the midfielder will stay at West Ham following their victory over Nottingham Forest.

The Hammers finally got their Premier League season up and running, scoring three times in seven minutes during a late 3-0 win at the City Ground.

After Jarrod Bowen broke the deadlock in the 84th minute, Paqueta doubled the visitors' lead from the penalty spot, before Callum Wilson headed in a third goal in stoppage time.

Paqueta has now scored all six of his penalties in the Premier League for West Ham, the club's best 100% success rate from the spot.

The Brazilian has been the subject of media reports linking him with a move to Aston Villa, but he demonstrated his passion to the travelling supporters by tapping and kissing the badge while celebrating his goal.

And Potter paid tribute to the midfielder's display amid the speculation.

When asked if he would remain at West Ham, the head coach said: "Yes. It's what we're here for - to win and prove we have the quality and prove we are a team. We can enjoy the next couple of days and prepare when the boys are back [from the international break].

"The noise has been around Lucas for a long time, and the way he conducts himself is incredible. He gave everything for the team again today and contributed with a goal and the win."

"Don't believe everything you read online," Bowen said of his team-mate. "Some people didn't think he'd turn up and play, but he turned up and scored."

On the win, the Hammers skipper added: "The start of the season hasn't been what we wanted. It's down to us to change those fortunes. We can't get too worked up about it because we have quality and resilience.

"It was 0-0 for so long, and we stuck at it. We got three goals, but it could have been a lot more.

"I thought we defended well and limited them in terms of chances. They didn't score, and we scored three. We deserved our win."

While West Ham's victory eased some of the pressure on Potter, the future of opposite number Nuno remains unclear, with the Forest boss set for discussions with owner Evangelos Marinakis.

"We will have a conversation looking for the best," Nuno said. "We have to talk and address things. This result doesn't help things, but we have to address what the club needs.

"My job now is to help the team. We have a challenge, and we must enjoy and play better football. It's a sad day. We are upset, but we have a second chance to make it right."

The hosts struggled to generate a decent attacking threat throughout the contest, with their 11 shots yielding just three on target and an xG of 0.6.

It marked their heaviest Premier League defeat since an 8-1 drubbing by Manchester United in February 1999, while it was Nuno's biggest loss as a Premier League coach since his Tottenham side lost 3-0 to United in October 2021.

"It's a difficult day for me. We have to make sure it doesn't happen again," he added. "I think it's okay. It gives us a chance with the players who stay here [during the international break] to really work on them.

"From the beginning of the game, we didn't show the urgency this game required. We should have done much more," he said.

"The second half was bad. We got unbalanced, and the urgency to chase the result and not be careful [took over]. 

"It was a shock. The first half was balanced. It required more speed. We were too slow. That was the idea for the second half, but it came the other way around."