Lanzini looking for relevance as West Ham prepare to face Tottenham
Lockdown football hasn’t produced many memorable moments and The Premier League Years: Soulless Edition isn’t much of a watch.
But West Ham midfielder Manuel Lanzini turned the tide in his side’s derby at Tottenham in October 2020 as his stoppage-time stunner powered a 3-0 comeback to steal a point in the break time.
As Lanzini sprints topless in celebration past a vacant end, the human cheers of the bench clearance celebration are audible above Sky’s commentary.
Two-and-a-half years on, however, and the only noises around the forgotten West Ham man are whispers of displeasure, with Lanzini airing his grievances on social media this week, posting a graph comparing his success rate with d other midfielders in Europe. five major leagues.
The ranking – which doesn’t perfectly match other sources but argues that Lanzini is, indeed, a good football passer – puts him sixth, below Toni Kroos and Marcelo Brozovic, but above Rodri , Marco Verratti and teammate Declan Rice.
Equally telling, out of necessity, they refer to last season: Lanzini hasn’t started a league game since opening day and hasn’t played at all since an appearance from the bench on the 6th november. Without the Thursday-Sunday workload of the first half of the season (Lanzini started all eight European games before Christmas), sharing minutes has been a problem for Moyes since the World Cup.
Yet until the recent revival of form, the Scotsman had been tinkering with his squad in search of a winning formula without turning to his No.10.
“We really like Manu,” said Moyes when asked about Lanzini’s lack of involvement earlier this month. “It’s just the way things happened. Sometimes I couldn’t present it.
Take a step back and reflect on how things went, and clearly, that’s not a ringing endorsement. Lanzini’s contract expires at the end of the season, although the club has the option of two more years. Whether he’s activated in hopes of recouping a transfer fee, he seems destined for the exit.
Before that, however, another door might have opened slightly. Lucas Paqueta’s injury has opened up a vacancy in midfield and Tomas Soucek, who replaced the club’s record signing against Chelsea last weekend, is most likely to fill it at Spurs tomorrow.
But after deepening Paqueta’s playmaking skills in an attempt to control plays, a similar change would surely re-employ a redundant figure. Lanzini clearly feels he deserves this chance. Will Moyes agree?
standard Sport
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