River Plate defender Leandro Pirez has indicated that he would love to see West Ham United midfielder Manuel Lanzini return to the Argentine giants when his time in the Premier League comes to an end.
With his contract expiring in July, if Lanzini is ever going to retrace his steps at the Estadio Mas Monumental, this may be the ideal time.
The Argentina international admitted to Football London recently that talks over a new deal were not currently underway.
While a key player during West Ham’s run to the semi finals of the UEFA Conference League – David Moyes’ side will go head-to-head with AZ Alkmaar in the last-four – Lanzini has almost become something of a ‘forgotten man’ as far as domestic action is concerned.
His only Premier League start in 2022/23 came on the opening day against Manchester City.
And Pirez, who re-joined River Plate recently, hopes to see a close friend make an emotional homecoming of his own.
Will Manuel Lanzini leave David Moyes’ West Ham United this summer?
“With Manu, we have more talks about life, how are the children. We know that he is a River fan. He watches all the games,” the Inter Miami loanee tells TNT Sports.
“(His future) is a very personal decision, in which one cannot get involved because the family decides,
“As much as the heart wants (Lanzini) to be here, they are things that run on their own. We do not touch the subject. I do not put pressure on him at all.”
Lanzini made his first-team debut at River back in 2010. A £9 million signing from Middle Eastern outfit Al Jazira; the now-30-year-old playmaker has been wearing claret-and-blue for eight years now.
And, according to former River Plate president Rodolfo D’Onofrio, Lanzini was willing to return to Argentina in the recent past, only for financial concerns to scupper any potential deal. The player himself, meanwhile, has admitted that embarking upon a second spell at River would be a ‘dream’.
“We wanted to sign (Austin FC striker Sebastian) Driussi and Lanzini,” D’Onofrio admits. “Obviously the numbers did not add up. But they had the desire and the will to return to River.”
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