Lanzini delight at Payet reunion

Manuel Lanzini admits his first instinct every time he gets the ball is to see where Dimitri Payet is standing after the talismanic Frenchman’s magical first season with West Ham.

Payet has only made one appearance so far this season for the Hammers, against Chelsea in mid-August, but is set to return to action this week against Watford.

The Frenchman was outstanding in his first season in east London, scoring 15 goals in all competitions for Slaven Bilic’s side, and will be a key player after their move to the Olympic Stadium.

And Lanzini is relishing the opportunity to reunite with Payet now that he is back.

He said: “Dimi and I get on very well. He has a great personality. He’s a great player and when I’m on the pitch, I always try to link up with him because I know he’s the player who can make the difference and can play that pass which means the rest of us enjoy ourselves.

“It went quite well for us last year and we hope to continue in that vein so that we give the West Ham fans many more happy moments.”

(GLYN KIRK/AFP/Getty Images)

Lanzini spent last season on-loan with the Hammers from Al-Jazira, but has now signed a permanent contract at the club.

That deal ties him to the club for four years with an option for a further two seasons, and after a great first season he is hoping for more this term having made his first appearance of the campaign last time out against Manchester City.
“I’m happy to have signed a permanent deal here and will stay here for more years which is what I wanted, so I’m very pleased,” he added.

“There were fantastic moments last season and we had a great year in which we achieved a lot for West Ham. We tried to stay as high in the table as we could and on a personal level, I felt very happy last year. I hope that will also be the case this year.

“I am excited to be playing at the new Stadium. I played in a similar stadium in Argentina in front of 65,000 people and it’s brilliant to be on the pitch because you feel the people around you and it’s great to be in the stands.

“The new stadium takes West Ham to a higher level which is very important.”