Manuel Lanzini

Manuel Lanzini (born 15 February 1993) is an Argentine footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for English club West Ham United on loan from Al Jazira Club. He has previously played for River Plate and Fluminense and international football for Argentina U20. He is described as possessing phenomenal dribbling ability, as well as fantastic acceleration and vision and the ability to ghost past defenders. He is nicknamed "the jewel" ("la joya") and holds an Italian passport.

Career

River Plate

Born in Ituzaingó, Buenos Aires, Lanzini made his professional debut for River Plate as a 17-year-old on August 8, 2010, in a 1–0 home win over Tigre, playing 45 minutes.

Lanzini spent the 2011–12 season on-loan with Fluminense in Brazil. He scored his debut goal on 1 September 2011, in a 2–1 victory over São Paulo, at the Estádio do Morumbi. He went on to play 37 games in all competitions, scoring five goals and won the 2012 Carioca.

He returned from a loan in the summer of 2012 and took the number 10 shirt. He scored his first goal for the club in a 1–2 home defeat to Belgrano, in the first game of the season.