West Ham United need to keep the Argentine happy and an upturn in form is vital to satisfy his ambition.
West Ham United midfielder Manuel Lanzini may have a contract until the summer of 2020, but the Argentine will not be satisfied to fight relegation battles at the London Stadium for the forseeable future.
For that reason and many more besides, the Hammers need to ensure they pull further away from the Premier League drop zone in the months ahead, with Lanzini the kind of talent that should be competing for silverware, not scrapping for every single season-defining point.
The 24-year-old returned from a knee injury to play 28 minutes of West Ham’s dramatic match against Swansea City, where a last-gasp winner from Diafra Sakho gave the Hammers all three points.
That was a timely intervention prior to yet another international break. But it is only the beginning, and West Ham manager Slaven Bilic needs to inspire his troops to bigger and better things, getting it right in terms of team selection and not just with a few late changes.
To be fair to Bilic, his substitutions have worked a treat in recent matches, so now he needs to ensure West Ham start with the personnel capable of comfortably winning more points than they drop.
Lanzini should be back in the starting XI when West Ham take on Burnley at Turf Moor latest this month, but his West Ham teammates need to follow his lead and deliver on the pitch.
While the Hammers currently hold the cards in terms of Lanzini’s short-term future, if their struggles continue he may find another offer too good to refuse.
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