Richard Keys slams Jesse Lingard after West Ham United snub in favour of Nottingham Forest
Richard Keys says Jesse Lingard’s decision to reject West Ham and sign for Nottingham Forest will see him “struggle to win 10 games”.
The former London Stadium loanee made the surprise move to sign for newly-promoted Forest this week after they decided to break their wage structure to meet his demands, which had proven beyond what the Hammers were willing to pay.
David Moyes had been after the 29-year-old for a full year since he finished his successful loan spell with the Hammers, but an agreement could never be reached that suited both sides.
Having reacted to the decision by branding the ex-Manchester United man “bang ordinary to occasionally good” if he plays for a good team on Friday 22 July, the beIN Sports anchor followed up his criticism on Sunday.
Writing on his personal Twitter account he said: “The debate has been interesting to follow. Bottom line is Lingard would’ve been better off at West Ham.
“Forest will struggle to win 10 games this season – which means they’ll be fighting for survival. Which means they will be called ‘struggling Forest’.
“Let’s talk again in May.”
Scathing
Lingard has come in for a heavy amount of criticism of late, as his social media output has wound up the likes of talkSPORT reporter Alex Crook, and Keys himself.
Clearly the attacking midfielder knows this and is playing up to it, so the Hammers can only move on as quickly as possible and look for an alternative.
It is quite clear that the former England international, or whoever has been advising him, were prioritising the best money offer, which has upset plenty of people but would hardly be the first time that has ever happened.
It is without doubt a frustrating development for the Irons, and not least for Moyes after the months of work he had put into bringing the player back.
But it shouldn’t be what makes or breaks the club’s transfer window, and in many ways as soon as the player decided against making a permanent return last summer it should have shown he didn’t see the Hammers as a priority.
He will no doubt join the likes of Frank Lampard as former Irons players who fans reserve a special fury for, but the club had plenty of chances to sign him if they thought he was worth the cash he eventually got and they decided against it.
Forest have made a big gamble as part of a lavish transfer window, and as Keys says it will clear come May whether it has paid off or not, but with Lingard only on a one-year deal, even if they are relegated he will be free to sign elsewhere.
If they stay up and Lingard is a big success they will have been proven right, but if they don’t and he isn’t then the Hammers will have been vindicated instead.