All you need to know about West Ham target Manuel Lanzini [VIDEO]

It has already been an eventful summer for West Ham United, who are now reportedly on the verge of securing the services of exciting Argentinian youngster Manuel Lanzini from UAE club Al Jazira. Outside90’s South American football guru Daniel Gartner gives you the lowdown on the former River Plate star.

With Slaven Bilic’s new-look West Ham side reportedly agreeing terms on a loan deal with UAE’s Al Jazira for the services of Manuel Lanzini, many English football fans will be unfamiliar with the former Argentina U20 international. Having already signed the likes of Dimitri Payet and Pedro Obiang this summer, Lanzini’s proposed loan deal also features the option for a permanent move at the end of the 2015-16 season if the former River Plate junior impresses at the Hammers.

Born in the Ituzaingó region of Buenos Aires on 15 February, 1993, Lanzini joined River Plate’s famed youth academy at the tender age of nine in 2002, and did not take long to make an impression in the Los Millonarios youth ranks. Tipped for stardom from an early age, Lanzini, affectionately known as La Joya (the Jewel), made his debut for River in the opening round of the 2010-11 Apertura on 8 August, 2010, starting in a 1-0 win against Tigre at the Estadio Monumental before before withdrawn at half-time.

A diminutive attacking midfielder also capable of playing as a second striker, Lanzini has all the hallmarks of a traditional Argentinian number 10, possessing phenomenal dribbling ability, as well as fantastic acceleration and vision and the ability to ghost past defenders.

Hailed as the new Pablo Aimar by the River faithful, La Joya‘s debut season at the Monumental saw him line up alongside current Argentinian internationals Erik Lamela and Roberto Pereyra, before the two would head off to Europe soon after. Despite impressing in his debut season, Lanzini was shipped to Brazilian side Fluminense on loan after River Plate was relegated to Argentina’s Primera B in May 2011 for the first time in its history. La Joya continued his development at Flu, and could hardly have chosen a bigger game to net his first goal for the Rio-based club, scoring in Fluminense’s 2-1 win over São Paulo at the Estadio do Morumbi on 1 September, 2011.

Lanzini’s thoroughly successful loan spell in Brazil saw him net five times in 37 appearances for Flu, as well as win the Taça Guanabara and Campeonato Carioca in 2012 before returning to River in August, where River had gained promotion straight back to the Argentinian Primera. The Ituzaingó-born star was handed River Plate’s iconic number 10 shirt, one of the most storied shirts in South American football, previously worn by the likes of Aimar, Ariel Ortega and Enzo Francescoli.

Lanzini scored his first goal for River in the opening match of the 2013 Torneo Inicial on 6 August, 2011, scoring after 75 minutes in a disappointing 2-1 home defeat to Belgrano at the Monumental. The weight of River’s iconic number 10 didn’t phase La Joya, who immediately established himself as one of Los Millonarios‘ most important players, scoring eight times in 26 Primera Division appearances in his first season back at his boyhood club.

Lanzini’s impressive performances earned him a call-up to Argentina’s U20 side for the 2013 Sudamericano U20 championships in Argentina. Lanzini made four appearances in the tournament for the Albiceleste‘s U20s, but despite featuring a side littered with prodigious attacking talent such as Juan Manuel Iturbe, Luciano Vietto, Adrian Centurion, Lucas Melano and Agustin Allione, Argentina was dumped out at the tournament’s group stage.

Lanzini’s return to River saw him net some crucial goals for the two-time Copa Libertadores champions, including a superb solo goal away to Racing and an opening-minute header against Boca Juniors in the Superclasico at La Bombonera. The former Fluminense loanee’s creativity was instrumental in River Plate’s return to success the following year, as La Joya scored four times in 36 Primera Division appearances to help River beat San Lorenzo to the 2014 Torneo Final.

Despite being inconsistent at times, Lanzini’s talent did not go unnoticed across the Atlantic, with Lazio, Liverpool, Chelsea, Roma and Borussia Dortmund all rumoured to be interested in acquiring the diminutive playmaker. With Los Millonarios in financial difficulty and increasing interest in Lanzini, River’s number 10 was eventually sold in the summer of 2014, making a move to UAE Pro League side Al Jazira for a rumoured €14 million.

La Joya‘s unexpected move to the Middle East saw his career ambitions questioned back home in Argentina, as very few believed the move was beneficial for the development of one of South American football’s brightest young talents. Despite lighting up the UAE Pro League and netting eight goals in 22 appearances, including an Olympic goal from a corner kick, Lanzini has now been deemed surplus to requirements in Abu Dhabi.

Rumours began circulating on social media at the beginning of year of a proposed move to England, when Lanzini posted a picture of himself on Instagram taking English lessons. A loan move to West Ham would certainty be a step in the right direction for the career of a player previously tipped to star for the Argentina national team in the future.

Slaven Bilic is certainly capable of helping Lanzini fulfil a lot of the potential that still sees him so highly rated in South America, despite his controversial move to the Middle East. There will be question marks over his ability to cope with the physicality of the English game given his size and slender frame, but there is little doubt he has the raw ability to become a real hit at Upton Park.

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