David Moyes has hailed Manuel Lanzini, insisting he remains an “important” player for the Hammers.

The Argentina international joined the club back in 2016, and has been a fixture in the squad ever since.

In total, Lanzini has made 215 appearances for the Irons, and has scored 31 goals, while registering 27 assists.

His influence on the first-team has waned, however, and he has mostly been limited to starts in the Europa Conference League this season.

In total, Lanzini has scored twice in the competition, against Silkeborg both home and away, and he has sat on the bench mostly in the Premier League.

He has only played 96 minutes of Premier League football this term, playing in the first three games, then playing three minutes against Southampton.

Other than that, he has mostly been sitting on the substitute’s bench but Moyes insists he remains vital to the Hammers, even if he is just playing the role of a backseat driver.

He said, per the Mail: “He’s a great little character, we like him and he’s been a great servant to West Ham.

“He’s still doing that really well. He has played a lot of the games in Europe and he’s around the first team. We like him a lot.

“If you look over the last few years he’s done a brilliant job for us.

“He’s giving us a little bit more maturity by playing a bit deeper on the pitch than he has before. Before he would have played further up with his back to goal and maybe he is enjoying playing a bit deeper.

“I have to say on his physicality, his numbers are excellent.

“We are really pleased with Manu and we like having him. Obviously, there is stiff competition ahead of him but we like him and see him as a real important member of the squad.”