WHZ View: Why Jesse Lingard deserves POTM award
West Ham ace Jesse Lingard has been shortlisted for the Premier League Player of the Month award for February.
The attacker joined on loan in January from Manchester United. His first five performances in claret and blue have won him lots of praise, as he looks to revitalise his career.
Lingard had become a forgotten man at Old Trafford. He hadn’t featured at all in the Premier League this season before his Hammers debut, but has now been shortlisted for the player of the month.
A point to prove
The treatment of Lingard by his boyhood club was rather strange. Since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has come in as manager, the England international has hardly had a look in but has clearly kept fit.
After making his loan switch, Lingard went straight into the West Ham XI for the trip up to Villa Park. It was a decision that proved vital – he was unplayable on the night.
Despite all the pre-match hype being around Jack Grealish, Lingard shone on the night. He scored twice as we left 3-1 winners. The attacker was playing like a man possessed, and registered six shots on the Villa goal. He completed 91% of his passes and 100% of his crosses [WyScout].
There was no sign of rust, or lack of match sharpness despite playing just twice all season in the FA Cup for United. It was a professional display and a sign of things to come from Lingard.
He next came up against a stubborn Fulham backline, who kept us at bay for the majority of the evening. In a dull encounter, Lingard was still our brightest spark. He worked hard to get on the ball and make things happen, completing 88% of his passes and 67% of his dribbles. The 0-0 draw was overshadowed by the red card incident with Soucek, but this was another good 90 minutes for him to regain more fitness.
Our number 11 was a handful again at home to Sheffield United. Lingard had five attempts at goal, with four forcing saves from Ramsdale. He also won the penalty to get us going in the 3-0 victory. Lingard has won possession in the centre of the pitch, before driving toward the Blades goal.
He was clattered into by Basham and the ref pointed to the spot, after 24 matches it was our first penalty of the season. Rice took the ball off of him, denying him a third goal for the Hammers, although it came in his next game.
In undoubtedly our best display of the campaign, Lingard inspired the Irons to a 2-1 victory over Spurs at the London Stadium. He spearheaded the attack again, having three attempts at goal. Lloris could do nothing about his second-half strike.
Lingard broke down the left flank, striking with his weaker foot across goal. The ball nestled into the far corner, giving us our second of the game. It was enough to win the match and open up a nine-point gap over our London rivals. His goals had won us four points in his first four games.
Despite losing 2-1 on the day, we were excellent against Manchester City. Lingard was at the centre of everything again and picked up his first assist. Having started the move off, he met a Coufal cross and turned it into the path of Antonio to tap home. Admittedly, it was a scuffed shot, but no one cared. He had to defend a lot more this game, making four interceptions and 5 recoveries. It was his best defensive display for us so far.
The professionalism that Lingard has moved to east London with has been fantastic for the club. He’s given us another dimension, and his winning mentality is rubbing off on the rest of the squad. He absolutely deserves to be named player of the month. If he carries on, he could be in with a shout for the Euros for England this summer.
In other West Ham news, our aerial presence is going to be crucial when we face Leeds on Monday evening.