Lanzini won’t replace Coutinho at Liverpool, says Bilic

Slaven Bilic has ruled out Manuel Lanzini joining Liverpool to replace Philippe Coutinho this summer and insists the West Ham ace is happy at the club.

Lanzini has been heavily tipped as a potential replacement for Coutinho at Anfield if Jurgen Klopp’s side fail to keep hold of their No.10.

There is a growing feeling that Coutinho will eventually end up at Barcelona this month but Bilic insists Liverpool will have to look elsewhere for his replacemet, as Lanzini is going no where.

“I speak to Manu every day and he is very happy,” The London Evening Standard quote Bilic as saying ahead of West Ham’s trip to Southampton this weekend.

“You can feel 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 [from UAE side Al Jazira during the 2015/16 campaign] we took the option even before we had to, we activated it.

“He was voted player’s player of the year which is a good thing and he feels wanted at the place. He likes it here.”

Lanzini has really stepped up his performances at West Ham in the wake of Dimitri Payet’s departure at the start of the year and has established himself as the club’s best player.

In fact, in 2017 only Wilfried Zaha (72) has completed more dribbles in the Premier League Lanzini (67), while only Eden Hazard and Marc Albrighton (both 18) have won possession in the attacking third more times (Lanzini – 17).