Manuel Lanzini’s arrival at Upton Park on loan from Al Jazira went somewhat under the radar for many West Ham supporters but the 22-year-old has made an instant impact in the Premier League and The Hammers are looking to tie up business earlier than expected to make his move a permanent one.

West Ham co-owner, David Sullivan told Sky Sports: “The contract we have is 100 per cent watertight. We have until April to make it permanent but we’ll probably do it before the due date.

“He is a fantastic player and a fantastic man. By February or March, he will be a permanent West Ham player.

“He could be a top, top, top player. He’s already sensational and he could be as good as any player in the world.”

The one-year loan that was arranged with Al Jazira gave West Ham the option to make the deal permanent for a fee of €10m (£7m) and after scoring four goals in only 12 Premier League appearances and the knowledge that there are several other interested suitors, The Hammers will waste no time.

Lanzini’s recent absence through injury has impacted West Ham and Slaven Bilic’s side have found goals hard to come by without the young Argentine’s creativity in midfield. While the injury to influential playmaker Dimitri Payet has undoubtedly also impacted West Ham, his arrival from Marseille for £10.7 million was far more heralded. As a young South American, who had been playing his football in the United Arab Emirates, many were pessimistic over whether Lanzini would have such an immediate impact on the first team.

Bilic himself was shocked at how quickly Lanzini adapted to the pace of the Premier League and the Croatian has been a big admirer since the teenager broke into the River Plate side. While managing Besiktas, Bilic came close to signing Lanzini, only for the cash of Al Jazira to snatch him away.

Earlier in the season, Bilic spoke about Lanzini and told reporters: “I am only surprised that he hit it off straight away. I thought he was going to need more time because he played with al-Jazira. It is a good level but you can’t compare that with the Premier League.

“He is a phenomenal player, who is very comfortable on the ball, no matter where he is and gives everything in every training session. I know him really well because I tried a couple of times to get him to my previous club, Besiktas, but it didn’t happen.”

While at River Plate, Lanzini wore the iconic number 10 shirt and was seen as much more of an advanced playmaker but Bilic has added a wonderful workrate and tenacity to his game, comparing him to Croatian counterpart, Luca Modric. This coupled with his outstanding touch and passing has seen him establish himself as a far more complete midfielder and one that will surely be knocking one the door of the national side soon.

Having exceeded expectation at West Ham, the club can be very satisfied with the business that they are about to complete and it will now be very interesting to see how Lanzini continues to develop in England.