West Ham United find breakthrough in Jesse Lingard talks
West Ham United have finally found a breakthrough in the negotiations to sign free agent Jesse Lingard, according to 90min.
The 29-year-old was released by Manchester United at the end of the 2021-22 season and is still looking for his new club although he is not without offers from elsewhere.
Everton and Newcastle United were the Irons’ biggest English competition with offers from Wayne Rooney’s DC United in the MLS and a Saudi Arabian side but hopes are growing that he will sign for West Ham.
Talks between his representatives and the football club have been ongoing for weeks now but this latest breakthrough seems to have been the final hurdle to skip over before Lingard’s return to the London Stadium.
David Moyes will be hoping the England international can find the form he had in 2020-21 when he scored nine goals in 16 Premier League games for the Hammers to fire them to fifth in the league.
Do it
You could argue that Said Benrahma, Manuel Lanzini and Pablo Fornals are more than enough when it comes to attacking midfielders but this is where we need to decide what kind of club we want to be.
If we fancy ourselves to mix it up with the traditional big-six of the two Manchester clubs, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal, then we have to start making improvements in that kind of position.
We are never going to go and usurp any of those teams consistently with such ability in the side so we have to try and find these bargains wherever we can and make the most of them.
Lingard doesn’t even need to hit the same heights he did when he was first with us because it is almost impossible to maintain that level of performance for that long.
But he will still be a needed upgrade on the team that could be enough to see us challenge for a top-four place towards the end of the season.