Aston Villa want to sign Manuel Lanzini as West Ham United contract set to expire
Aston Villa have joined the race to sign Manuel Lanzini on a free transfer with his West Ham contract set to expire, according to Fotomac (10 June).
The Argentine playmaker is expected to leave the London Stadium when his deal expires at the end of the month, with no talk of a new deal mentioned by either party.
But after Besiktas and River Plate made their interest in the player known, Premier League side Villa have now joined the race and “hot developments” are expected in the transfer soon.
“Continuing their search for the number 10 position, the management pursued Manuel Lanzini, whose contract with West Ham United had expired,” they wrote.
“It is expected that there will be hot developments in the transfer of the football player in a short time.
“The 30-year-old experienced star is also interested in the Argentine club River Plate, along with Aston Villa, one of the Premier League teams.”
Sad
Lanzini has become a bit of a cult hero at West Ham having been here for so long and scored such important goals, most memorably that goal against Tottenham.
With his contract set to expire it’s no surprise to see him leaving considering the severe lack of game time he has had this season and the fact we’re only going to look to get stronger in that area of the pitch.
He’s already behind players like Lucas Paqueta, Pablo Fornals and Said Benrahma in his preferred positions and with more attack-minded midfielders likely to join an exit makes the most sense.
A return to Argentina looked like the perfect answer for him, but he’s only 30 and he’s still definitely good enough to make a difference for teams in Europe.
At Villa he’d get more minutes than he does here but likely wouldn’t be a starter still, so a different option would make more sense. Plus seeing him in a different claret and blue just wouldn’t feel right.