Green Street Hammers
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Manuel Lanzini continues coming of age

By Scott Johnson

STRATFORD, ENGLAND - MARCH 06: Manuel Lanzini of West Ham United scores his sides first goal during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Chelsea at London Stadium on March 6, 2017 in Stratford, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
STRATFORD, ENGLAND - MARCH 06: Manuel Lanzini of West Ham United scores his sides first goal during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Chelsea at London Stadium on March 6, 2017 in Stratford, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /
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Many fans felt the departure of Dimitri Payet would leave the side devoid of creativity in the midfield. But West Ham have a new midfield maestro in the form of Manuel Lanzini.

It’s always a tough feeling when you come away from a match like West Ham did against Chelsea. In a real footballing sense they played well. But they took no points from the match and once again the attack looks lost for ideas.

However Manuel Lanzini looks well at home in the Premier League. His quick feet and eye for a pass almost got the Hammers in at Chelsea a few times, even if his shooting was a little off until his goal late on. The Hammers have a real gem in their squad, but they need to take advantage of it.

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Making the most of Manuel

Lanzini is the type of player who benefits from the work rate of others around him. He is exceptional at exploiting space but if the defence can simply track him without worrying about the other players then he will not be able to do his job.

Everyone saw little glimpses today that he would be able to get into the Chelsea defence, but not often enough. His work with Carroll is good, because the big front man always drags defenders away. However the wingers let him down today.

Snodgrass is more of a ball player than an out and out winger. There have been very few occasions where he is going to knock the ball past his man and beat him for pace. However he can present a danger with his wicked left foot, although I’d like to see him cut inside more to present a different option.

Feghouli I was disappointed with for a different reason. He has bags of pace yet very rarely did we see him come in to try and use it against the back 3. Changing up your runs is essential for a winger so you can lose your market, but it wasn’t done often enough. Add to that the fact his crossing was all over the place and he didn’t have a great game going forward.

Next: Blunt attack costing points

West Ham have to start making use of Lanzini’s talents, before they lose him to a Premier League rival. Liverpool were said to be interested last year, and I can see him fitting right in there.