West Ham to offer contract to international attacker – report
By Harvey Byrne
West Ham are set to offer attacker Manuel Lanzini a new contract to bring him in line with the club’s top earners, according to a report.
The Sun have claimed on their website that the Hammers are preparing a new 50,000-a-week contract offer to the one-time Argentina international in attempt to fend off interest from Premier League rivals.
The 24-year-old is still contracted to Slaven Bilic’s team until 2020 after joining from United Arab Emirates-based side Al-Jazira in July 2016 after a successful loan spell.
However, his starring performances in the last campaign has seen a number of reports linking clubs with interest in Lanzini and now West Ham are keen to avoid another situation which saw them lose star Dimitri Payet in January.
The attacking midfielder played in 39 matches in all competitions for the Hammers last season, scoring eight goals, while also providing two himself and he was named as the West Ham Players Player of the Year after a starring role.
Football Insider verdict:
West Ham absolutely have to offer new contracts to their star players if they are to continue progressing. The club did very well in their work with Payet, as they made sure they tied him up on a new long-term deal within a year. However, other reasons saw him want a move away. Now, in the modern age key players are always expecting a wage rise, or to leave and receive those wages elsewhere and this could be the Hammers’ best pieces of business this summer.
In other West Ham transfer news, this £40,000-a-week Hammers player is close to departing.
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