Forget Dimitri Payet, can Manuel Lanzini be West Ham’s new hero?

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As the Dimitri Payet saga looks to hang over West Ham United till the summer at least, Slaven Bilic will be looking for a new man to step into his shoes and be the catalyst for his side. It has been a debut campaign to forget for the London Stadium with Arsenal, Southampton, Manchester United and Manchester City all delivering heavy losses to the Hammers on home turf. Yet, after back-to-back wins against relegation-threatened rivals, United are on the up and a key part of that recent trajectory is Manuel Lanzini.

The Argentinian was a hit with the Upton Park faithful before he made his loan spell permanent in the summer. His partnerships with Payet, Michail Antonio, and Mark Noble were integral to a Premier League best-ever points tally and 7th placed finish last season. His direct, mazey runs made him settle quickly into life in the Premier League and establish himself as a vital member of the first team.

A nightmare first half of the season saw the Hammers lose half of their league encounters until victories over Crystal Palace and Middlesbrough. There have been very few moments for home fans to enjoy at their new stadium – a cup win over Chelsea, a late Winston Reid winner, and Andy Carroll’s bicycle kick are probably all of them. Despite their best player going on strike until he is sold, the team has grouped together and shown more fight and quality in the past few weeks than in all of their proceeding games.

This has meant greater responsibility for the likes of Lanzini, Antonio, and Sofiane Feghouli to provide service and attacking flair to Carroll. Antonio has been the Hammers’ Player of the Season so far, whilst Reid and Cheick Kouyate have also been exceptions to otherwise a below-par display from a squad which raised expectations last campaign. Lanzini, 23, is still a developing young player but has already shown he has what it takes to make it at this level and be the fans new hero.

In comparison to teams around West Ham, Lanzini comes out well with fellow attacking midfielders. Lanzini has created more chances (4), scored more goals (4) and won more take-ons (69.05%) than Gaston Ramirez of Middlesbrough, Stoke’s Marko Arnautovic and 2015/16 Player of the Season Riyad Mahrez. Ramirez has one more assist, but the stats show Lanzini has done as well as expected for where West Ham are in the table. Given more time to blossom and thrive in the number 10 role, he can take on Payet’s example and be the core of West Ham’s attack.

His delightful chip finish to round off a resounding beating of Palace last week showed his class and his pace to sprint away from the despairing Palace backline. The Frenchman, who has left the void, provided world class performances for United supporters in his time but it seems that time is over as fans have already altered his chant which used to claim he was, ‘better than Zidane’.

The mantle is left for someone to grasp and be the man that West Ham fans chant about now.  They are still settling into their new home, a home which was made for stars to be born. Mo Farah, Usain Bolt, and Jess Ennis-Hill all have left their legacy on the London Stadium. The Hammers are determined to do just that and one man who can be a part of that, for now and the future, is their Argentinian number 10.