Manuel Lanzini has probably already played his last Premier League game for West Ham United, after eight years with the club.
Mercurial West Ham midfielder Manuel Lanzini could be someone who leaves the London Stadium this summer. In fact, the way things have gone for him this season would suggest that his exit at the end of the season will be a dead cert.
A recent report claimed that the 30-year-old could be set for a return to his boyhood club River Plate this summer.
Lanzini has barely featured for the Hammers under David Moyes this season – certainly not in the Premier League. In fact, he has been given just 144 minutes of action in the league (Transfermarkt).
And I think that the Argentinian ace will be on his way out of the club this summer…
Manuel Lanzini may well have played his last Premier League game for West Ham
The fact the Moyes didn’t give Manu any minutes against Manchester City was really telling as far as I’m concerned.
If the Scot was not prepared to give him a run-out in that game, with so many players missing, then he surely won’t give him any minutes in any of our remaining Premier League fixtures.
The midfielder joined West Ham for around £9 million on a permanent deal in the summer of 2016 (The Express), having spent the 2015/16 campaign on loan at Upton Park.
Lanzini was an exceptional player for us during his first three years at the club. However, an ACL injury in the summer of 2018 really halted his career.
In truth, the South American has never really been the same player since that injury. That’s no disgrace, plenty of players struggle to return to their best after suffering ACL injuries.
Manuel Lanzini’s contract with West Ham is due to expire in the summer. However, the club does have the option to extend that deal by a further two years.
I just can’t see that happening though, and would not be surprised one little bit if we don’t see the 30-year-old make another Premier League appearance for the Hammers.
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Star West Ham wanted to sign under Manuel Pellegrini and David Moyes could face five years in jail over a betting scandal
A star West Ham wanted to sign under both Manuel Pellegrini and David Moyes could face five years in jail over a betting scandal.
Back in 2018 West Ham embarked on a nearly £100m splurge to fund then-manager Manuel Pellegrini’s summer spree.
One of the Chilean’s big targets was said to be then-Genoa center-back Armando Izzo.
The likes of Sky Sports and talkSPORT claimed West Ham wanted to bring Izzo to the London Stadium.
In the end, the move did not materialize and instead, West Ham signed Fabian Balbuena.
Balbuena and Dawson’s signings look better than ever
Two years later Izzo was being linked with the Hammers once again, this time under David Moyes.
After Covid, the summer transfer window for 2020 went into October. And as the days ticked down to the deadline, Moyes was desperately searching for a new center-back.
Hammers News reported claims at the time that the Scot was weighing up a move for Izzo.
In the end, West Ham signed Craig Dawson on an initial loan in what would prove one of the best bits of business in the club’s modern history.
Well, it seems the Hammers very much dodged a bullet on both occasions.
Because the star West Ham wanted to sign under Pellegrini and Moyes could face five years in jail over a betting scandal.
Izzo is owned by Torino – where West Ham’s Nikola Vlasic is on loan – but has been on loan at Monza. He has three caps for Italy.
Star West Ham wanted to sign under Manuel Pellegrini and David Moyes could face five years in jail over a betting scandal
Now, as reported by the likes of Football Italia, the defender has been found guilty of associating with the Neapolitan Mafia and sporting fraud over a betting scandal from his time at Avellino.
Izzo has always maintained his innocence in the investigation that has been going on since 2016. And the former West Ham target will be appealing.
The prosecutor in Naples suggested a sentence of four years and 10 months for Izzo in December 2022 and on Thursday news agency Ansa reported the verdict came down with a sentence of five years.
The way the Italian justice system works, though, means this is only the first stage of the process and someone is not considered guilty until the fourth and final level of the appeals process has been completed.
But had West Ham signed Izzo on either occasion the club would have been dragged through this lengthy process.
West Ham fans are already extremely fond of both Balbuena and Dawson. Perhaps even more so in light of the news from Italy regarding Izzo.
