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The player for West Ham to build their club around?

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West Ham received a huge boost ahead of the summer transfer window when Manuel Lanzini declared his happiness at the club. The tricky winger has been integral to the team’s end of season revival, which saw them escape relegation and finish 11th, just one point below Southampton in eighth. His form has been rewarded with a call up to the Argentinean national squad, ousting no less a player than Sergio Aguero from the camp.

It has cheered the fans, who have endured a pretty miserable season, but it is the sort of form that could leave them fearing the worst after the Dimitri Payet saga. Payet was the club’s best player last season and agitated for a move away when clubs came knocking, and it overshadowed the first half of West Ham’s season, which was pretty calamitous by all accounts. The worry would be that Lanzini – after helping drag the Hammers out of the relegation dogfight and up the table – could follow a similar path.

However, the 24-year-old says he is keen to remain with West Ham and is already looking ahead to next season. “The season was good for me on a personal level,” he told the club website earlier this month. £At the beginning it was not great as I suffered an injury on international duty in pre-season, but then I could achieve a good level. Dimi is a great player. He left and it was not good news for the squad but luckily at the end I had a very good season. We achieved the points to stay in Premier League, which was the most important thing. We did not have a good start of the season, but now we need to think in the next game and the next season.”

“For now, I am thinking of the next game then thinking of having good holidays with the family. I am very happy here. Next year, if we work hard, we will get a better result.”

That is exactly the sort of loyalty the club and the fans deserve. Lanzini is contracted to 2020 and the Hammers stuck with him through injury and erratic form. It is only right that he repays them by sticking around to help improve their standing now that he has found his feet again.

There is every reason to think it will be an exciting season at West Ham in 2017-18, and he could be playing with a better group. Slaven Bilic has said he is done with signing squad players and wants to sign top first-team stars to complement what he already has. A stronger presence in central midfield, a goal scorer and defensive reinforcements are a priority, and Lanzini could benefit further from playing in a team challenging at the other end of the table next season. Battling relegation for so long this season was a beleaguering experience. But sportsbooks like BetDSI will be taking bets on next season and things are looking up. West Ham are all the way out at 10/1 to be relegated with the bookmakers, and they are 13/8 to finish in the top half. Bilic said that is the bare minimum for next season, and while the top six might be a bit of a stretch, there is every reason to think the Hammers can compete for seventh with teams like Southampton, Leicester and Everton – and beat them. It depends on keeping their stars and landing top players in the summer, and after being linked with the likes of Michy Batshuayi and Pablo Zabaleta, and existing players pledging their loyalty, and the team now seeming comfortable in the new stadium after a strong end to the campaign, there is every reason for fans to be optimistic about next season.

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