West Ham United insider ExWHUemployee has been sharing some details on the possibility of the east London club potentially signing Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard this summer.
This comes after Ex co-hosted a recent episode of The West Ham Way Podcast where he spoke about a range of topics concerning David Moyes’ side.
On the subject of Lingard, who spent the second half of the 2020/21 season on loan at The London Stadium, Ex had this to say about the possibility of the Hammers potentially working out a deal to sign the Englishman again this summer, which has been rumoured in recent weeks.
He said: “I’ve been told that [Ole Gunnar] Solskjaer is very keen to keep him and that Lingard is open to the idea.
“Now, they still have yet to finalise the discussions. So, there’s still a chance that we could get Lingard, but a couple of weeks ago, I was like, not certain, but very confident we would get him. My confidence isn’t as high now, but that’s just based upon that I know that Solskjaer hasn’t completely written him off from his plans.
“So, we shall see what happens with that. I mean, nothing’s happened in terms of negotiations, so there’s still room to manoeuvre either way, but that’s my understanding of the situation.”
During his spell at West Ham, the 28-year-old, who is currently valued at £19.8 million, managed to score nine goals and provide five assists in 16 appearances (per Transfermarkt).
TIF Thoughts on Ex’s comments on Lingard…
Given how much of an impact Lingard had at West Ham in terms of scoring goals and providing assists during his time at the club, it’s understandable, in our view, that the Hammers would be open to trying to sign him again this summer, either on another loan deal or on a permanent basis.
Are you confident West Ham will sign Lingard again this summer?
Yes
No
However, if the Englishman were to be guaranteed regular playing time at Old Trafford next season and is indeed in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s plans as Ex mentioned, then we feel that it would be difficult for West Ham to work out a deal to bring him back to east London unless Lingard would rather move back there.
With Lingard not making any appearances for United in the Premier League during the season prior to making his move to West Ham, it could take a lot of convincing for him to believe he will have a significant part to play in their next campaign.
Either way, the ball is arguably in the midfielder’s court.
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