West Ham United saga sees talkSPORT hosts in heated clash over Jesse Lingard
Jesse Lingard’s ongoing transfer saga has caused talkSPORT’s Alex Crook and Sam Matterface to clash live-on-air as Nottingham Forest look set to sign the West Ham target.
David Moyes has been a long-time admirer of the attacking midfielder, who enjoyed a stellar loan spell at the London Stadium in the 2020/21 Premier League season.
However the 29-year-old now looks set to seal a deal at the City Ground with wages thought to be in the region of £180,000-a-week, according to The Evening Standard (20 July).
The Lingard saga has caused plenty of debate, with Crook and Matterface disagreeing live on talkSPORT in a clip posted to the station’s Twitter page, with the latter insisting to the former: “You should apologise”.
Crook said on Thursday 21 July: “He should’ve forced his way out in January, it was clear he wasn’t going to be picked or playing for Manchester United.”
To which Matterface responded: “There were so many players trying to get out of United in January and Manchester United were putting road blocks in front of them.
“Instead you’re kicking and screaming about him using Tik Tok.”
Crook hit back suggesting that has impacted Lingard’s performance: “There was a suggestion at Manchester United that it [social media] was impacting on his performances on the pitch.
“For six games he was decent at West Ham and that’s all he’s got to show for the last two and a half years.”
Forget about Lingard
Lingard is simply not worth thinking about for West Ham anymore, with the former Manchester United man making his intentions very clear.
There can be questions raised over the attacking midfielder’s wage demands, which are ridiculously high, but furthermore, Lingard hasn’t played a lot of football over the past 12 months.
It makes absolutely no sense for the Hammers to make a player who has played minimal football the highest-paid member of the squad.
Lingard being 29 also makes a move for the England international a fairly unattractive proposition for the Hammers.
Weekly wages that are touching £200,000-a-week should be kept for players who are the club’s biggest assets such as Declan Rice or Jarrod Bowen.
It’s not harsh to suggest that what Rice and Bowen achieved in the 2021/22 season is more than Lingard has managed in the past five to six years.
It’s time for the Hammers to call it a day in their move for Lingard and let Forest destroy their wage structure in order to land the attacking midfielder.