West Ham United: Presenter claims Wijnaldum could be Lingard alternative

Geo has been speaking on the Hammers Chat YouTube channel about how Georginio Wijnaldum could be an alternative West Ham United look to instead of signing Jesse Lingard.

The Dutch midfielder let his contract run down last summer and thus became a free agent, which saw him earn a big-money move to Paris Saint-Germain, however, AS has claimed that he is now looking for an early exit from the Ligue 1 club because of a lack of playing time.

Wijnaldum has only started eight games in Ligue 1 this campaign, but that is still more than Jesse Lingard, who decided to not re-join David Moyes’ side over the summer in a move which has backfired, to say the least – with the midfielder yet to start in the league and potentially set for a move to relegation-threatened Newcastle United, according to The Guardian.

Both Lingard and Wijnaldum have been linked with a move to the London Stadium, however, given West Ham find themselves in the top four, they may well be able to tempt someone of Wijnaldum’s calibre and reputation.

Geo believes that Wijnaldum could be a solid alternative to Lingard in January.

“Moyes does give you some insights into his thinking ahead of the transfer window, and sometimes you’ve got to read between the lines, and when he spoke about the attacker, he basically said ‘we need to get somebody in’, which is difficult, because we’re a top-four team at the minute, and finding a striker that’s good enough to play in the top four of the Premier League is not easy.

“But then he referred to bringing in Jesse Lingard a year ago and said, ‘alright, we’ll bring in someone like Lingard that has that dynamic, that can obviously score goals and create goals.

“We know Wijnaldum can do that. It perhaps wasn’t as evident at Liverpool as it is when he plays for his country, the Netherlands. It is evident there; he plays in a much more advanced role when he plays for his country and he scores goals, regularly scores goals.

“Him and Memphis Depay are always the top two leading goalscorers for the Netherlands as well.

“So could Wijnaldum be an alternative to Jesse Lingard? The deal will be similar as well – a couple of million pounds loan fee, decent wages between now and the end of the season. It’s a short-term, low-risk move for club and player. I could see it happening – logistically, it makes sense.”

TIF Thoughts on West Ham swooping for Wijnaldum over Lingard…

It would certainly be a bold and audacious move to try and prise someone like Wijnaldum from the bright lights of Paris, where PSG are seemingly set to win the league and currently playing in the Champions League. But with the way West Ham are playing, it could be an exciting end-of-career project for the midfielder.

However, when comparing the two midfielders, it would be hard to argue against Lingard, because he was almost unstoppable last season on loan at West Ham, while he is already familiar with the club, players and David Moyes’ style of play, so he would be able to settle in quickly. Also, the fact that he is about to enter the final six months of his contract would likely make him way more attainable than Wijnaldum.

In other news: ‘He’s preparing us for bad news’ – Presenter drops worrying transfer claim on Moyes at West Ham