West Ham supporters are hoping for a shakeup in midfield when their side face Chelsea at the London Stadium this weekend.
Since the last international break, the Hammers have struggled in the final third of the pitch, and one Twitter fan account has called on Manuel Lanzini to be handed a start against the Blues:
Lanzini has to start against Chelsea. Don’t care if it’s in goal, he has to be in the XI.
— West Ham Transfers (@westhamtransfer) December 1, 2021
Other fans were very much in agreement, with some even wanting to go further by starting Nikola Vlasic as well:
Totally agree, he has shown he is finally ready to start for us 👍💯
— Greeny the Hammer (@GreenyHammer) December 1, 2021
Vlasic needs to play a part at some point too need to give the regulars a shake up
— Scarborough Hammer (@ScarboroughHam1) December 1, 2021
Yep Bowen up top. Lanzini in the middle vlasic right and fornals left. Gotta go for it.
— Flyinghammer6 (@flyinghammer6) December 1, 2021
Vlasic, too. Antonio needs a rest and to feel some splinters. He’s looked completely ineffective and gassed since the international break.
— Avs 👑 (@nftavs) December 1, 2021
Fornals Lanzini Bowen easy
— #GSBIN (@BobLaundryII) December 1, 2021
Start vlasic and lanzini against Chelsea
— GeoffShreeves🇵🇸 (@WHU_Geoff) December 2, 2021
Play Lanzini and Antonio will be more in the game. He was more involved towards the end when he had someone behind him who could actually pass the ball
— TS (@tsss67) December 2, 2021
While a lot of supporters were unhappy with their side’s performance against Brighton last night, it must be said that they did create a fair few chances to put the game out of sight, so manager David Moyes may not be inclined to make too many changes.
In the case of Lanzini, the Argentine has struggled for form in recent seasons and he has rarely featured since Moyes’ return to the club. However, he is looking a lot more like his old self and his recent displays do merit him being recalled to the starting eleven.