According to the Mirror, West Ham United will offer Argentine midfielder Manuel Lanzini a new five-year contract in order to fend off suitors.
The 26-year-old, whose current deal runs until June 2020, could only make 10 Premier League appearances in 2018-19 after a knee injury he suffered preparing for last summer’s World Cup with Argentina ruled him out for many months.
Nevertheless, Turkish giants Fenerbahce are keen on Lanzini as they have identified him as a perfect replacement for Mathieu Valbuena, but West Ham won’t be entertaining any bids from them or anyone else, as manager Manuel Pellegrini wants him for next season and going forward.
The former Manchester City boss is a big fan of the midfielder’s creativity and was gutted to have missed his services for the majority of last season.
Lanzini has been a key player for the Hammers since arriving London from United Arab Emirates’ Al-Jazira in August 2015, scoring 14 times in 78 games thus far.
Having recently finished in the top half of the table, a top-seven finish is the target for West Ham next season, and a squad shakeup is ongoing as Pellegrini has been told to sell in order to raise more transfer funds.
Recruiting quality players is a must this summer, and also having the likes of Lanzini raring to go for pre-season preparations will help boost the team’s chances in 2019-20.
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