West Ham target Jesse Lingard could be cheaper than first anticipated
West Ham insiders Claret & Hugh have stated that Jesse Lingard would be available for a lot cheaper than the initial prices that have been floated around in the media.
Editor Hugh Southon has claimed sources close to the player and agents believe that a fee between £15 and 18 million will be enough to get the deal over the line.
On Saturday, The Sun stated that Lingard made his intentions clear to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer that he wanted to stay at Old Trafford, but C&H believe that talk was premature.
Southon wrote, "At 28 years of age and with just a year left on his deal, United will be having to settle for something closer to £15 million according to agents well known to Claret and Hugh.
"Despite a story in the Sun claiming the attacking midfielder wants to stay at the club, senior sources at OT have made it clear to us that a West Ham switch is the more likely outcome.
"Several agents have told us they believe a fee of between £15m – £18 million is far more realistic with personal fees over three years to be organised at around £100k-a -week."
Exciting times ahead
The report does state that it's going to be a while before the deal gets done due to the EUROs so we can expect a lot of speculation from now until mid July, at the very least.
Lingard's undoubtedly our main transfer target and getting him over the line will be a huge relief.
He still has the small formality of commencing talks with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but Man United are expected to cash in on him as his contract will run out next summer.
Given how stacked Man United’s squad is and they have an array of players that can be deployed in the Lingard role.
It has also been reported that Juan Mata is likely to extend his deal if he’s willing to take a pay cut – giving them an extra player in that position. [The Sun]
It's almost certain that he will leave in the summer, unless he has a drastic change of heart.
Now that Moyes' contract is sorted out too, we need to get a few more deals over the line and try signing Lingard at the earliest.
In other West Ham news, Hammers front queue to sign £20m-rated striker who scored 29 goals this season – report