Manuel Lanzini is looking forward to clashing with old River Plate pal Ramiro Funes Mori this afternoon.
Lanzini, on loan from Emirati club Al-Jazira grew up at the Buenos Aires club with centre-back Funes Mori with the pair scoring in a 2-1 ‘Superclasico’ win over rivals Boca Juniors last year.
Speaking to Saturday’s Official Programme, which will be available for £3.50 in and around the Boleyn Ground on matchday, the No28 revealed: “We speak sometimes over here. We’ve not seen each other yet as he is three hours away in Liverpool but now we have the chance to meet. We came up from the youth system at River so we knew other well. He is a great person and we get on really well.”
Lanzini believes a River Plate education provides a great start for life in the Premier League saying: “I am a fan of River. I always have been since I was a boy and for me to play there was a dream, on top of the fact it’s one of the biggest clubs in the world.
It marks you. It is not the same coming to Europe from one of the biggest clubs in the world as from somewhere else.”