ESPN journalist Rob Dawson has revealed that he doubts that Jesse Lingard will sign for West Ham United on a permanent deal this summer, following his successful January loan move to the London Stadium.
Reports have suggested that despite West Ham’s desire to bring him back to east London, Lingard may yet turn the opportunity down.
Lingard left Old Trafford in January in search of regular first-team football, after he fell out of favour under Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjær.
The midfielder’s switch to the capital was a huge success as he managed to get himself back in Gareth Southgate’s England squad, and although he didn’t make the final squad for Euro 2020, he managed to make the initial 33-man squad, which was arguably a huge achievement in itself.
The 28-year-old scored nine Premier League goals in claret and blue as he helped spearhead David Moyes’ men’s charge into the Europa League with a sixth-place finish in the Premier League.
However, Dawson has admitted Lingard’s desire to play Champions League football could be the stumbling block in him returning to West Ham on a full-time basis.
Speaking to Manchester United Muppetiers’, Dawson had this update to give on Lingard:
“Jesse Lingard is an awkward one because he’s done so well at West Ham and he’s in the final year of his contract. So, United’s options are; sell this summer and get some kind of fee, try and extend his contract – I’m not sure that Jesse would want to do that, given that he’s enjoyed playing regularly so much and he wants to play as number 10 and you know, we’ve got Bruno Fernandes, who isn’t going to go anywhere.
“He wants to play Champions League football as well, Jesse Lingard, I don’t think that he’ll end up at West Ham. I don’t think he’s that keen on going back to West Ham permanently. And then obviously the other option is to keep him for a year and then he goes a free like Pogba in 12 months which would be a waste really because given what he did at West Ham, he is now a 30 million pound player at least.”
TIF Thoughts on Jesse Lingard potentially not going back to West Ham…
It’s fair to say that Lingard’s form he produced during his stay at the London Stadium helped revive his career, but as the 28-year-old forward looks to the next chapter in his career, he could do worse things than sign on a permanent for The Hammers this summer.
Under Moyes, a manager who seems to know how to get the best out of him, Lingard has found a manager who gives him the freedom to express himself week in, week out. Signing new terms at Manchester United could be the worst decision Lingard could make this summer as he could possibly lose all of the momentum he gained in the previous months as he would, expectedly, play second-fiddle to Bruno Fernandes, who missed all but one league game last term.