West Ham fans applauded Jesse Lingard when he came on for Manchester United
West Ham suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Manchester United on Sunday, with Jesse Lingard coming on to score the winner.
The England international attacking midfielder, 28, spent the latter half of last season on loan with the Hammers, playing a huge role as they finished the Premier League season in sixth place and qualified for the Europa League.
The London club were keen on signing him permanently in the summer, but a move did not work out.
Lingard was returning to the London Stadium for the first time since his loan spell, and he was warmly welcomed by the home supporters.
As shared on his personal Twitter account, Standard Sports journalist Jack Rosser reported that the West Ham faithful loudly applauded the Man Utd ace when he came on.
He posted: “Loud applause from the home fans as Jesse Lingard comes on for Manchester United.”
Bitter ending
Lingard scoring the winning goal upon his return to West Ham almost looked like a fairy tale that was on the cards, and the fans would not have been surprised.
They would have been disappointed, though, as they would have loved to see him bagging the goals in the Irons shirt instead.
The Hammers faithful applauding him when he came on clearly shows they still hold him in high esteem, but it remains to be seen whether a reunion would happen in January or next summer.
While he has had to settle for a place on the Red Devils bench given the fierce competition for playing chances in attack, Lingard wants to show manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer what he is capable of doing, and having also come off the bench against Newcastle United last week to score, he is definitely doing so.
He aims to establish himself as a key player for the Old Trafford outfit, and if he keeps going at this rate, a return to east London is unlikely to happen.
In other West Ham news, the ambition of Hammers figure is blowing Simon Jordan away.
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