West Ham United: Nottingham Forest very optimistic in attempt to sign Jesse Lingard
Nottingham Forest are “very optimistic” about their chances of landing West Ham United target Jesse Lingard according to Sky Sport’s journalist Florian Plettenberg.
Plettenberg has also suggested (via Twitter) on Wednesday 20 July that a two-year deal is on the table for the 29-year-old should he move to the City Ground.
West Ham are still in the race for the attacking midfielder although the club hierarchy don’t want to break their wage structure to land the former Manchester United man.
Walk away
West Ham really need to walk away from the saga and quickly.
It is remarkable that Nottingham Forest are prepared to break their wage structure to sign a 29-year-old attacker who featured a handful of times in the 2021/22 Premier League season.
Considering they’re newly promoted, it looks like a rash move from the City Ground side.
David Moyes surely has to throw in the towel when it comes to the Lingard situation now.
The West Ham boss clearly rates the attacking midfielder, however, he is not worthy of the wages that he is asking for.
Moyes would be far better off utilising his wage budget to bring in a younger addition that could provide value for the club going forward.
Lingard realistically has two to three years in him before his value decreases sharply and he begins to sap money out of the club.
Moyes should potentially revisit a move for Arnaud Danjuma after focussing all his attention on Lingard.
If the Hammers made Lingard their highest-paid player, it would send an awful message to the rest of Moyes’ squad.
Time to move on to other targets.