West Ham United ace Manuel Lanzini admits he would “love” to return to River Plate when his time in the Premier League comes to an end, speaking to ESPN.
With only two years left on his contract and having fallen out of favour during David Moyes’ second spell in charge of the London giants, Lanzini’s dream return to Argentina may come around sooner than expected.
28-year-old Lanzini rose through the ranks at River Plate, making his professional debut in red and white a decade ago.
And the Albiceleste international is convinced he’ll be strutting his stuff at the Monumental again before he hangs up his boots.
“I would go back to River obviously – I would love to,” says Lanzini, who joined West Ham on a £9 million permanent deal in 2016.
“I think it it will happen when the two parties agree it will happen.”
Does Lanzini have a long-term future at West Ham?
Lanzini has played just 13 minutes of Premier League football this season, falling behind the rejuvenated Pablo Fornals and Said Benrahma in Moyes’ pecking order.
But with West Ham looking to make their presence felt in a number of cup competitions – Lanzini started against Manchester United in the Carabao and against Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa – there’ll be plenty of opportunities for one of the club’s longest-serving players.
“I’m happy (at West Ham),” he adds. “It’s good there are many cups because the players have to rotate and it makes those of us who haven’t been playing active and able to show the manager we deserve to be starting.”
Lanzini scored the winner in West Ham’s 1-0 win at Manchester United in midweek but that wasn’t enough to earn him a place in Moyes’ XI for Saturday’s dramatic smash-and-grab victory at Leeds.
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