Just as it seemed West Ham and Jarrod Bowen would carry on where they left off in last season’s Europa Conference League final, Bournemouth equalised through Dominic Solanke to earn Andoni Iraola a point in his first match in charge. David Moyes looked miffed with a draw at full-time and stood with his arms folded on the edge of his technical area when Solanke rounded Alphonse Areola with 82 minutes on the clock. Iraola, in a black turtleneck jumper, high-fived his players as they headed down the tunnel.
Long before that history-making night in Prague West Ham swallowed the reality of losing Declan Rice to a bigger fish but did not countenance the prospect of selling Lucas Paquetá a month later. West Ham rejected an opening £70m proposal from Manchester City for Paquetá this week butgiven the Brazil midfielder is keen to make the move and has an £85m release clause that kicks in next summer, it feels almost inevitable his future will soon lie elsewhere.
