West Ham Boss Insists Manuel Lanzini Is Not for Sale Amid Rumoured Interest From Liverpool
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic has ruled out a possible move for Manuel Lanzini to Liverpool this summer, as rumours continue to surround the playmaker following the aftermath of Philippe Coutinho's transfer request bombshell.
The Hammers boss was quick to shoot down any speculation surrounding Lanzini on Thursday as he insisted the 24-year-old was going nowhere, despite the reported interest of Reds boss Jurgen Klopp.
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The Argentinian international has pieced together a number of impressive seasons with West Ham - scoring 14 goals in 61 league appearances after making his move from Al Jazira Club - which has seemingly caught the eye of Liverpool who could be looking for a Coutinho replacement this summer.
The midfielder is understood to be seen as a possible low-cost option with proven Premier League experience for the Reds, however Bilic in his press conference ahead of this weekends matchup with Southampton was quick to reiterate that the 24-year-old is not for sale.
He said, via football.london: "No, I am not worried [about Lanzini leaving]. I got it from the papers, the news. That’s it.
"But, I said it last week when we spoke about it before Man Utd game. I speak to Manu every day and he is very happy. He really feels at home here, he feels wanted.
"You can see it, you don’t have to talk to the player but you see he is smiling, he is happy. He broke into the Argentina team, he got a call-up for the September games so he knows that if he plays for West Ham I have a chance to improve, sign a better contract with West Ham and play for Argentina. He is very happy.
"I don’t want to set a price tag on him, I am sure he is going to stay with us.
"He knows that he is wanted. As I said, the chairman and the board, when he was on loan we took the option even before we had to, we activated it.
"He was voted players player of the year which is a good thing and he feels wanted at the place. He likes it here."
