David Moyes raves about West Ham United attacker Manuel Lanzini
David Moyes has showered heaps of praise on West Ham United forward Manuel Lanzini, saying he has become a “better player” now.
Lanzini has played as a winger on either flank or behind the striker at West Ham all these years, but the Argentine excelled when he was asked to play in central midfield.
The Hammers boss has hinted that Lanzini could be used in deeper roles going forward, and he wants more goals and assists from him.
“I actually think it is where he is a better player now. I think if you remember when we played Burnley a couple of years ago, he played really well up at Burnley, I think he played really well,” said Moyes, as quoted by Football London.
“We had Tomas (Soucek) or Declan (Rice) out, I think it was Declan out, he played alongside Tomas that night. He played really well as a central midfield player. I actually think at the moment, that is where he is better playing, behind the ball rather than maybe a bit ahead of the ball.
“I would still play him in both positions, but I just see him maybe playing a little bit better from deeper now. He’s been great for the club and he’s been really good for me in his time here. I like him as a player, I really do like him, but we’ve got lots of players in the competition. We need him to start coming up with some goals for us and create some assists as well.”
New contract?
Lanzini has a contract at the club until the end of the season and it will be interesting to see if the Hammers offer him a new deal.
He will turn 30 shortly, and the club could be hesitant in offering him a new contract. He will be a free agent next summer, as it stands.
The Argentine has been at the club for a long time, and he has had ups and downs in all these years.
It seems, Moyes wants to use his experience and skill to use him in midfield more often rather than playing on the wings, where he is more predictable.
Lanzini will be charged up after hearing such nice things being said about him by his manager.
But he needs to come up with goals and assists for his side. At the moment, with him, it’s mostly about an admirable work rate with very little output.
However, for a player of his quality, he should be increasing his numbers and become a true match-winner for the club. If he can do that, the club could be tempted to offer him a new deal.