West Ham were initially reluctant to hand Manuel Lanzini a new deal because the club were unconvinced by the Argentine’s fitness, according to Football Insider.
As detailed in the report, the Hammers announced last week that the South American had signed a new deal with £100,000-a-week.
And it is understood that the club would have made their move to tie him down even earlier, if it hadn’t been for the fact that they were waiting to be convinced by his fitness levels.
Lanzini missed most of last season due to a knee ligament injury.
OPINION
If there were any doubts about whether or not Lanzini should be handed a new contract, he has surely put those uncertainties to bed with his start to the new league season. The Argentine has arguably been the Hammers’ best player so far this term, registering 3.5 shots on goal and 3.3 successful dribbles per game, as per Whoscored. You can understand why there were some doubts over Lanzini’s fitness, given how long he was sidelined last term, but by the looks of things he has come back as strong as ever, and all the early signs are that he could have a really important season for the Hammers. That £100,000-a-week may seem like a lot of money, but when you consider the fact that Lanzini could probably get into just about any side in the country, it could end up being money very well spent. The Irons should just be grateful to have a player of his calibre, whatever the cost.
