Argentinian side River Plate are eyeing up West Ham United midfielder Manuel Lanzini as they believe he will provide them with a ‘leap in quality’.
That’s according to Fichajes, who say that ‘everything’ suggests the player will be leaving the London Stadium in the summer.
Lanzini is out of contract at West Ham in June this year and so far there has been no suggestion that West Ham will look to extend his stay at the club.
He has only managed five appearances for West Ham in the Premier League this season, featuring in just 6% of the available minutes as David Moyes has preferred the summer signings Lucas Paqueta, Pablo Fornals or Saïd Benrahma.
It’s led to consistent speculation that he will be leaving on a free, with several reports suggesting he could be returning to his native Argentina.
River Plate are those who are reported to be interested, with the player’s father even suggesting it would be a dream for them to secure that move.
Fichajes pick up on that today and say River want to make three signings in the summer as they try to assemble a team capable of winning the Copa Conmebol Libertadores.
They’re eyeing ‘top level players’ who can offer a ‘leap in quality’ on an individual level, and West Ham midfielder Lanzini is one of them.
He is out of contract in the summer and ‘looks set to leave’ at that point with no contract renewal talks happening at present or seeming likely to in the coming months.
River want to take advantage of that and bring him home, with Lanzini having started his career at the club before moving to Al-Jazira in 2014.
Whether Lanzini is interested remains to be seen but the plan is there and ‘everything’ indicates he will at least be leaving West Ham at the end of the season.
