West Ham United are teetering above the relegation zone on 27 points and remain at risk of dropping to the Championship when the Premier League season returns. The Hammers have invested heavily in forward areas recruiting players such as Felipe Anderson, Sebastien Haller and Pablo Fornals, but as they bid to save their season, manager David Moyes must not leave Manuel Lanzini out of the action. The Argentinian playmaker missed some of the festive period with a shoulder injury and has struggled to get back to his best since, just once recording a match rating above seven, but he is still a vitally important member of Moyes’ squad.
Despite having recorded just two assists this term, no player has provided more key passes per match for the Hammers than Lanzini’s 1.5, as per WhoScored. This suggests that the 27-year-old is playing teammates through with scoring opportunities, but more often than not, they are failing to convert those chances into goals.
Furthermore, only Felipe Anderson, 2.8, and Michail Antonio, 2.7, have recorded more dribbles around opponents per game than Lanzini’s 1.7, as per WhoScored. He has a dribbling capability which outstrips the majority of his West Ham teammates which could be very valuable particularly later on in games when opposition defenders begin to tire.
Another area where the five cap Argentina international thrives is ball retention, no player for West Ham has recorded a higher pass accuracy than Lanzini’s 86.3 per cent, from his average of 35.1 passes per match. No player in the West Ham squad is more effective at retaining possession than the 27-year-old, but he has proven with his key passes per game that he is not just choosing the easy option to avoid giving the ball away.
Moyes’ current 4-4-2 formation does not suit Lanzini’s typical role as an attacking midfielder; however, he is capable of playing on either the right or left side of midfield and must be considered as an option for Moyes. Leaving one of his primary creative assets on the sidelines could have severe consequences in West Ham’s battle to secure their Premier League survival. Lanzini’s lockpicking abilities in tight spaces on the pitch could prove to be the difference between being relegated or staying in the top-flight for another season of top-flight football.
