Manuel Lanzini: A West Ham fans appriciation post

West Ham fans are known for many things, good or bad. Most notably, they are known for their divine love for the players when they play for the badge. Someone that has shown that day in and out, injured or not, has been Manuel Lanzini. The Jewel has been all-in since he arrived back in 2015 on loan at first from Al-Jazira.

From his first match in 2015, you could see the potential, this speed, and the passion of being a Hammer. That season in all competitions, he put in time in 33 matches scoring 8 goals and 4 assists. Slaven Bilic, West Hams manager at the time, and the board were so impressed that they decided to turn his loan into a permanent move. Ask any Hammers fan at the time and they would have probably boycotted the club if they didn’t bring Lanzini on as a full-time transfer.

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If there is a negative for Lanzini it is that he has gotten hurt, a lot. Since he joined West Ham in all competitions he has been hurt or out due to recovery for 64 matches. Some might view this as a good reason to sell him, but I beg to differ. When you watch his style of play you can tell that he plays hard and fast and isn’t afraid to get his nose in there and get the job done. Once again, the prototypical West Ham player in the fact that he gets in and does what is needed, day in and day out for the club.

Speaking of injuries and a missing Lanzini, this season forced West Ham to miss him a lot. When he was called up to Argentina there was elation for the player, but after sustaining a massive knee injury that turned to dismay. His absence was most assuredly felt on and off the pitch for club and country. To finish the season he did play in 10 appearances starting in 8, and besides him knocking the dust off in a few tough matches, his presence was shown.

You can directly relate 12 points partially to Lanzini and his performance at the end of the season. The Newcastle match where it was back-and-forth for the entire match, he put in 90 tough minutes to help secure the win. Without Lanzini, I don’t think that we can get through that tough match, that shouldn’t have been tough, against Huddersfield Town where he bagged an assist.

Our final home match of the year he put in a solid shift helping support the solid 3-0 victory. And we all saw how well he buckled down last week at Watford even notching his one and only goal of the season. To end the season he was awarded a 6.7 WhoScored rating with his final two matches coming in at a 7.9 and 7.7 respectively.

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Stats and performances aside, you would be hard pressed many other West Ham players with the willingness to get in there and get the job done as he has. He may not be big and he may not be strong but he is our little jewel and I for one would be glad to keep him on for years to come. Manuel, when you read this, thank you and COME ON YOU IRONS!