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Report: Chelsea join race for West Ham playmaker Manuel Lanzini

West Ham United's Manuel Lanzini celebrates scoring their first goal (REUTERS)
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Manuel Lanzini has been heavily linked with leaving West Ham United, and now Chelsea have become the latest side to register an interest.

West Ham United's Manuel Lanzini celebrates scoring their third goalWest Ham United’s Manuel Lanzini is now attracting Chelsea’s attention

A report in The Sun has suggested that West Ham playmaker Manuel Lanzini is now attracting the attention of Premier League champions Chelsea with one figure from the Blues backing him to emulate Luka Modric.

Lanzini has enjoyed an excellent season with the Hammers, scoring eight times and contributing two assists in the top flight for Slaven Bilic’s men.

Unsurprisingly, the 24-year-old’s form has attracted plenty of attention with The Sun suggesting that Arsenal, Liverpool and Everton have all been keeping an eye on the attacking midfielder ahead of the summer transfer window.

But if any of those sides want to win the race for his signature, it appears that they could have to see off interest from Chelsea with The Sun suggesting that the Blues’ technical director Michael Emenalo believes that he could be as good a player as Real Madrid star Modric.

Croatia's Luka Modric celebrates after the gameChelsea’s technical director believes Lanzini could be as good as Luka Modric

The Sun adds that Lanzini is happy at the London Stadium despite all of the interest, but perhaps the report gives the Hammers hierarchy something to think about heading into the summer.

Some of the teams chasing the Argentinian can offer Lanzini the chance to play in the Champions League or Europa League, and while he is seemingly not tempted at the moment, he is too good a player to not be playing on the continental stage in the near future.

Therefore, surely the best way the Irons can ensure that Lanzini remains happy is to build a squad capable of challenging higher up the table, and thus, they should have few qualms about giving Bilic a considerable budget to work with this summer.

West Ham United manager Slaven BilicSurely the interest in Lanzini should persuade West Ham United to back Slaven Bilic with considerable funds