Argentine playmaker Manuel Lanzini is set to sign a new long-term deal with West Ham that will keep the 26-year-old in east London until 2024.
The Express and Sky Sports News report that the former Al-Jazira midfielder is keen to extend his stay with the Premier League side and Lanzini himself has spoken out about his desire to remain a West Ham player for the next few years.
The 26-year-old, who has a Transfermarkt valuation of £18m, said in the build-up to this weekend’s game against Watford: “It is (West Ham) like my home. It is my fifth season now, I love the fans, the fans love me and the club is amazing.”
Lanzini, who initially joined the Premier League club on loan in 2015 but was signed permanently by the Hammers a year later, has played every minute for Manuel Pellegrini’s side this season after making a full recovery from a cruciate knee ligament injury last summer that kept the Argentine out of the World Cup in Russia and half of the 2018/19 campaign.
The West Ham number 10’s current deal expires next summer, and although the club do have an option to extend that to an extra two years, it seemingly appears the Hammers and player both want to see an improved deal tabled, with wage figures from Claret and Hugh showing that Lanzini makes just £35,000-a-week at the east London club.
As numbers from Transfermarkt show, Lanzini has enjoyed a successful few years with West Ham, with the attacking midfielder making 111 appearances in total for the Hammers, scoring 21 goals and assisting another 18.
With the Argentina international being an important first-team player whenever he is fit, extending his stay as well as offering him an improved contract makes sense in all areas for West Ham, with Pellegrini keen on guiding the club to European football three years after their last appearance in a continental competition.
