Journalist Dean Jones has been speaking on the latest edition of Touchline Talk to discuss all things transfer related with the host, Pete O’Rourke.
One name which is stealing the headlines in the Premier League is Jesse Lingard following another dazzling display against Wolves on Monday night for his loanee club, West Ham.
The 28-year-old is currently on loan at the Hammers until the end of the season, however, reports suggest David Moyes is desperate to sign the midfielder permanently this summer.
Will West Ham sign Lingard permanently?
Yes
No
Discussing the potential future of the England international, Jones had this to say on the matter.
He said: “So, I’d say you’re looking at £25m here to sign Jesse Lingard. Listen, we’ve seen West Ham linked with many, many, many players over the years for this amount of money and more – and none of them were as proven as Jesse Lingard; let’s put it that way, after the impact that he’s had for them on loan.
“So even at £25m, I think this would be a really good piece of business. I think the West Ham fans would love him to become part of the setup. But yeah, there’s nothing in place at the moment. And West Ham, to be honest, can’t wait to have the discussion with United and just find out what they’ve got to do to sign him because I think that at this point, Jesse Lingard’s probably had his head turned.
“But he’s got a taste now of what it’s like to be the star man and to be there every single week as a talisman, as a goalscorer. And I think he’s quite enjoying it. So yeah, I think that he might even himself now just be more tempted than ever before to actually leave United permanently.”
TIF Thoughts on Jones’ comments…
The journalist seems to be pretty confident Lingard may be tempted to ditch Manchester United in favour of a permanent deal at West Ham, and why wouldn’t he?
Before signing the loan deal with the Hammers, the 28-year-old had not played a single minute of Premier League football for the Red Devils this season and had only made the United bench on four occasions in the league (via Transfermarkt).
Since arriving at the London Stadium, Lingard has netted six goals in his eight appearances under Moyes which has caught the attention of Gareth Southgate who called the midfielder up to the England squad for their World Cup qualifiers – his first call up since June 2019.
In other news: ‘We should have done it earlier’ – David Gold speaks out on big 2017 West Ham decision