Fans may have been crying out for Manuel Lanzini to make his long-awaited return from injury, but the £18million-rated midfielder has not been able to hit the same heights as he managed last season.
As such, the 5 ft 4 creator should be particularly concerned by reports in Fanatik, which have suggested the Hammers are chasing AC Milan’s Hakan Calhanoglu alongside Leicester City.
The San Siro natives are said to value the 41-cap Turkey international at close to €30million (£25.9m), with anything lower than that deemed insufficient to even consider the 25-year-old’s future – he is, however, up for sale.
Calhanoglu is not eager to seek a move away from the Rossoneri, given he is a key figure under manager Gennaro Gattuso, but it is noted that he would consider a switch to the Premier League if his time in Milan is over.
Since joining AC from Bayer Leverkusen in 2017, the Mannheim, Germany-born star has played 85 times in all competitions, and has ten goals, 26 assists to his name – Calhanoglu has scored twice and assisted 13 times this season.
The left-winger, who can play through the centre, has also featured in the Rossoneri’s starting XI 88% of the time in the Serie A this term.
If he were to move to the London Stadium, however, he would likely find it hard to force his way into Manuel Pellegrini’s plans via the left-wing spot. Depending on how well Lanzini can tackle the final games of the season, and in what shape he returns for pre-season, the centre may also be off the cards for Calhanoglu.
Lanzini, though, has only been able to create one goal since his long-awaited return, and has looked to keep it relatively simple when he’s been in possession.
Calhanoglu, on the other hand, played a key pass every 24.2 minutes in the Europa League this term, along with a key pass every 34.9 minutes in the Serie A. He also made a name for himself in the Bundesliga through his lethal free-kicks, which Pellegrini could see as a route to take Robert Snodgrass out of the side once Andriy Yarmolenko is fit again.
