Manuel Lanzini is West Ham’s best technical player. Since Payet left that is one thing that has become abundantly clear. So why would Moyes want to play him on the left?
Manuel Lanzini is one of the few players brought in under Slaven Bilic still doing a job for the club. He’s many fans’ favourite player, and when you can play like he does that’s no surprise. He’s been a central player for West Ham, both literally and figuratively. So why would his position be changed?
Well it seems that Lanzini may be shifting across, with both the player and the manager preferring the left hand side. It would see the Argentinian take up Dimitri Payet’s old position, which would be a tough mantle. It could also cause an issue for other players taking up the roles they want.
We understand Moyes wants to use Lanzini on the left. Good news for “The Jewel 💎”who told us
— WHUFC Bulletin (@whufcbulletin) November 14, 2017
“I am comfortable playing in both positions there or in the middle,but I prefer playing on the left as I feel I can contribute more from that position as does the new manager” pic.twitter.com/GQpbPdcOXE
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Given the other players we have in the squad, moving Lanzini out of the centre seems odd. Antonio, Ayew and Arnautovic are all wide players by most definition, and shoving Lanzini out there would only force another one of those on to the bench. However you do want to play your best players in their best position.
The twitter interaction above shows that Lanzini potentially wants to move out there. And when a player is saying they prefer it, that can only be good right? If he’s been our best player when central, what could he do when moved into the position he wants? But then it leads to the question about who will take a central role.
Maybe Moyes will put Ayew and Chicharito central. With Ayew in the middle it will become a more direct game, but it does leave an Arnautovic question. He nearly always played out on the wing for Stoke, so it will be a push for Moyes to try and fit all these new signings and big players in. But Lanzini’s positioning has to be key for Moyes. If the Argentinian plays well, he could help drag the Hammers back up the table.