Trevor Sinclair raises doubts with West Ham reportedly likely to sign Lingard on loan
Former Hammer Trevor Sinclair has outlined his belief that West Ham do not need to sign Jesse Lingard as they are still to see the best from Said Benrahma.
According to The Athletic, Lingard is likely to move to the Irons on loan from Manchester United with Benrahma’s current temporary stay set to be converted into a permanent deal in order to make space for another domestic loan spot.
Sinclair made over 200 appearances West Ham between 1997-2003 and has had his say on the prospective deal.
Speaking on talkSPORT’s White & Jordan show (27/01/21) Sinclair raised doubts over the move for Lingard, saying: “I’m not so sure, I know David Moyes has worked with him before, he’s a good player or he has been in the past but you look at his record…”
“For me, I don’t think he’s necessary. I mentioned Pablo Fornals earlier, [Said] Benrahma I think there’s a lot more to come from him.”
He added: “They are still to unlock the potential from Benrahma but the performances are there.”
Where will Lingard slot in?
Sinclair raises a valid argument with the Irons currently stacked with options in the attacking midfield positions.
David Moyes has chopped and changed between a three and four-man defence this season but looks to have settled on a 4-2-3-1 formation lately with three creators in behind front man Michail Antonio.
With 19 and 18 starts apiece Jarrod Bowen and Pablo Fornals have established themselves as first-team fixtures in the West Ham starting XI across the 20 Premier League games so far.
The third spot in attacking midfield has been less secure but summer signing Benrahma has started the last four Premier League games and has two assists to his name this season.
However, the Algeria international has failed to fire in front of goal and has yet to open his account for the Hammers despite enjoying a prolific campaign for Brentford last season where he scored 17 Championship goals.
Lingard, though, has bagged only once in the league since the start of last season and has hardly proved himself to be a great source of goals in his career and he has only netted more than six in a domestic campaign once (eight in 2017/18).
With the likes of Andriy Yarmolenko and Manuel Lanzini also sniffing around for first-team minutes West Ham are actually well-stocked in this area of the pitch and the requirement for Lingard seems low.
As Sinclair comments there is still so much more to see from Benrahma and a move for Lingard could potentially stunt his development at the London Stadium.
In other West Ham news, see our exclusive interview with Frank McAvennie on his delight with these three Hammers.