Olly Allen

Fri 19 November 2021 19:10, UK

West Ham manager David Moyes made sure to see Jesse Lingard after the Hammers faced Manchester United earlier this season, according to Samuel Luckhurst.

The midfielder has been linked with a January switch to the London Stadium after a successful loan spell in the second half of last season.

Lingard featured against West Ham in a Manchester United shirt in September, coming off the bench to score a stunning 89^th-minute winner in a 2-1 victory for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.

Writing in his latest piece for the Manchester Evening News, Luckhurst states that “Moyes spoke intimately with Lingard” after that game, hinting that a move could be on the cards.

The report adds that the reason why West Ham did not sign Lingard in the summer was because Moyes “dithered” in the transfer market.

The Hammers eventually signed Croatian midfielder Nikola Vlasic for £25m, which Luckhurst claims “was roughly Lingard’s valuation”.

Encouraging?

This latest update in what is turning into a long-running saga should give West Ham fans hope that Moyes is keen to bring Lingard back to East London in the new year.

The midfielder clearly enjoyed his loan spell at the club and was in the best form of his career, scoring nine goals and registering five assists in 16 games.

However that has not resulted in more opportunities at Old Trafford and Lingard has made just one start for the Red Devils this season – against West Ham in the EFL Cup.

BBC Sport have reported that talks over a new contract for the England international have broken down, increasing the chances of him departing the club in January.

As Luckhurst highlights, Moyes decided to bring in Vlasic as an alternative to Lingard in midfield, but the Croatian is yet to make his mark and has only started once in the Premier League.

In other West Ham news, Glenn Hoddle has described one Hammers star as “the best in the Premier League”.

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