New West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini is set to make attacking midfielder Manuel Lanzini his main man next season, according to Claret and Hugh.
The Hammers insider site claim that Lanzini is set to stay at the London Stadium and is keen to get working under Pellegrini and the South American regime on the way to east London.
Claret and Hugh report that Pellegrini has plans in place to deploy Lanzini off of Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez up front, with the club ready to open preliminary discussions with the 25-year-old over a new contract.
It is said however that the club are in no rush to strike a new deal as Lanzini has two years left on his current one, with reports of contact with Liverpool also being well wide of the mark.
OPINION
It is hardly surprising to hear that Pellegrini will not only look to keep Lanzini around, but make him his main star next season. The Argentine has been the Hammers’ most creative player for a while now, and all he has really needed is a manager who can get the best out of him. Pellegrini looks like he could be that man, with his high octane attacking style sure to turn Lanzini into a top player in the Premier League. Lanzini has long been tipped to hit the heights but has not quite managed to perform on a regular basis yet, and this looks like it could be the change he needs in order to manage that. A front three of Lanzini, Arnautovic and Hernandez is seriously dangerous, and if Pellegrini gets that trio firing then the club could easily find themselves in a battle for a Europa League spot next season. To be in that position however will also require a revamp of the Hammers’ defence, which was atrocious in 2017/18.
