WHZ Stats: Astonishing stats show how vastly Lingard has improved at West Ham
It goes without saying how well Jesse Lingard has performed since joining West Ham on loan from Manchester United in January.
The 28-year-old has scored five goals and supplied three assists already in seven Premier League appearances for the Hammers, playing his way back into the England squad in the process and assisting a goal in the 5-0 win over San Marino on Thursday night.
Lingard’s rise back to the top of his game has been meteoric after such a tough spell at Man United.
Before he joined West Ham in January, Lingard hadn’t made a single league appearance this season. Last term, the Warrington-born ace played 40 times in all competitions but scored just four goals and only made two assists. Out of his 22 Premier League outings, he started just nine times for the Red Devils.
We’ve used stats by Wyscout to illustrate just how wildly Lingard’s form has improved since his loan move to West Ham.
As you can see below, it’s pretty clear how Lingard’s numbers have improved. While he set up more shots per 90 minutes of Premier League action for Man United last season, he failed to assist anything. He’s also averaged more goals, has a higher xG and won more fouls this season with the Irons.
Next up we have Lingard’s success rate in certain attacking situations like shots, crosses, passes into the box and dribbles.
Other than his overall pass completion and forward pass accuracy, Lingard has improved in all areas with the biggest difference being his ability to find team-mates with crosses.
This is likely to go hand in hand with his improved accurate passes into the penalty box and increased rate of assists that were shown above.
Lingard has been let off the leash by David Moyes at the London Stadium.
From the heatmaps of both this season at West Ham and last season at Man United, you can see how much more regular Lingard has the ball on the left.
You can also notice how Lingard barely got down to the byline at Man United last term but does it far more frequently at West Ham.
Lingard’s improvement has been ridiculously good with the attacker now looking nailed-on for a spot in the England squad at the European Championships in the summer.
If someone said that at the start of this season – or even the start of January – you would have laughed at them.
But Lingard has silenced those who doubt him, playing brilliant, efficient football that has made him one of the most revered attackers in the Premier League right now.
In other West Ham news, Frank McAvennie claims Arsenal targetted Aaron Cresswell last week.