Carlton Palmer: Jesse Lingard will join West Ham again
West Ham United were unable to complete a deal for Jesse Lingard in the summer, but Carlton Palmer expects them to return for the services of the attacker soon.
The Manchester United ace spent the latter half of last season on loan with the Hammers, and it was expected that both parties would reunite for a temporary or permanent deal afterwards.
Unfortunately, that did not happen and the 28-year-old England international remains at Old Trafford until at least January.
However, Palmer reckons a move to the London Stadium remains very much on the cards for the attacking midfielder.
The pundit told This Is Futbol: “I think Lingard will be available at some point to go out on loan, for sure.
“And I think West Ham will probably get him again at some point.
“It’s always hard in the first throws of the season when matches are coming thick and fast. But, once things settle down and Lingard’s not playing regularly, he’ll have to move on a permanent deal or go and play on loan.”
Very possible
There were a lot of reports claiming why the Red Devils star did not join the Irons, but only the player himself knows what stopped the move from happening.
He is in the final nine months of his current contract and can always leave for free next summer if he wishes to.
On the other hand, Man Utd could be forced to allow him to leave in January for a fee in order not to lose him for free, but him signing a new deal cannot be ruled out too.
Lingard wants to prove himself at Old Trafford, and he needs to do that within the next three to four months.
Failure to get into manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first-team plans between now and January would see him consider his future, and West Ham could be an option by then.
He has the likes of Bruno Fernandes, Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho to battle with for playing opportunities, and it appears he fancies his chances against the trio.
Should things not go as planned, a return to the London Stadium would be necessary again for him to keep his World Cup dreams alive.
In other West Ham news, Stuart Pearce has been blown away by the development of consistent Hammers star.
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