West Ham United’s new boss Manuel Pellegrini has been trying very hard to bring in new players during the summer transfer window but now the former City manager has been dealt with a huge injury blow.
According to the latest reports, attacking midfielder Manuel Lanzini is set to miss the whole of next season after picking up a serious injury a couple of weeks back.
Lanzini, 25, suffered a knee injury in Argentina’s training camp one week before the World Cup began and the first reports claimed that the damage could be significant.
The midfielder later went onto claim he was hopeful that he can recover soon enough to play a part for West Ham during the 2018-19 season.
Now though according to reports, Manuel Lanzini’s injury has been classified as ‘cruciate plus’ which means that he will not be missing from action for almost 15 months.
This is a huge setback for Pellegrini and his plans for the upcoming season given the fact that apart from Mark Noble, Manuel Lazini was the only other creative midfielder in the Hammers squad.
From what we figure, West Ham United had been informed about Lanzini’s injury beforehand and the London outfit have already dived into the market looking for a new creative midfielder.
Rumours have it that Pellegrini is planning to launch a bid for Barcelona midfielder Rafinha.
Rafinha was scheduled to join Inter Milan on a permanent deal after his loan spell had ended but now that the Serie A side have backed off from the deal, Barcelona are looking for a buyer.
Hammers are planning to make a move for Rafinha during the coming weeks but are set to face some stiff competition from Tottenham Hotspur who are also interested in the player.
Pellegrini’s side have also been linked with Sevilla midfielder Joaquin Correa who is supposed to be an easier catch as compared to Rafinha. The report suggests that the Hammers have already made contact with Correa’s agent and are pushing for a deal to go through as soon as possible.
Correa is believed to be a player who is very similar in mould to Manuel Lanzini and the West Ham coaching staff believes that the 23-year-old can be a perfect partner to Marko Arnautovic.
It is pretty clear that after Manuel Lanzini’s injury, West Ham United are now in desperate need of an attacking midfielder who can provide the spark in and around the attacking third.
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