According to La Pagina Millonaria, Manuel Lanzini met with the Vice President of River Plate after West Ham beat Aston Villa on Sunday.
What’s the story?
Well, Matías Patanian was in London as part of a ‘protocol visit to Europe’ according to the South American news outlet.
There, he met with Lanzini, who spent 12 years at River Plate from 2002 to 2014.
The £69,000-a-week West Ham maestro received a River Plate shirt from Patanian, which had Lanzini 10 on the back.
In return, the Argentina international gave the River Plate Vice President a West Ham shirt, which also had Lanzini 10 on it.
Nobody knows what the pair discussed during their meeting, although, in our view, it may have been in regards to the 29-year-old returning to River Plate.
Manuel Lanzini could soon leave West Ham
David Moyes appears to love Lanzini, and has given the South American 90 minutes across each of West Ham’s last three Premier League games.
However, the Argentine has made no secret of his desire to return to River Plate.
Of course, some players say these things in regards to the latter stages of their careers, in the hope of potentially retiring back where it all started.
In Lanzini’s case, however, he has expressed a desire to play under Marcelo Gallardo, who doesn’t seem as if he’ll still be at the club when the Irons playmaker approaches retirement.
La Pagina Millonaria quote him as saying: “I want to be part of River at some point. Especially with Gallardo, who is a fantastic coach who empowers the players. Having coaches like this is difficult to find in a footballer’s career.”
The 46-year-old sees his contract expire in June, and could one day end up at Spurs – he was on Tottenham’s shortlist before they hired Antonio Conte.
It may have just been a friendly reunion, although in light of Lanzini’s comments, it’s likely that talks over a return to River Plate took place.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
