West Ham United move for Jesse Lingard ‘off the table’ despite collapsed Saudi transfer
West Ham have no intention of tabling an offer for Jesse Lingard after the forward’s move to Saudi Arabian side Al-Ettifaq fell through, according to Colin Millar.
The Mirror journalist reported for the online edition of the British publication on Sunday [22 October] that the Steven Gerrard-managed club are no longer expected to sign Lingard.
However, any hope the former Manchester United ace had of being offered a Premier League lifeline by West Ham does not look likely.
Millar added: “Whether he will be offered a contract in the Middle East remains to be seen – but any move to West Ham is now off the table.”
What a waste
Lingard looked likely to pen a short-term contract at London Stadium in the summer after spending time training with the first team.
But no contract was forthcoming, and the winger decided to try his luck in the mega-rich Saudi league instead – a decision he may be regretting.
A move to Al-Ettifaq is reported to have fallen through in part due to the player’s financial demands.
Given the amount of money teams in that part of the world are willing to throw around, that is quite the reason for the deal collapsing.
West Ham were right to not keep Lingard on in the first place, and that decision is even more justified now a month or two on.
The former England international has effectively wasted six months of his career since departing Nottingham Forest.
And while he was superb in East London during a previous loan spell, it is fair to say his best days are now behind him – so much so that even teams in Saudi Arabia are in a position to say no to him.
In other West Ham news, Moyes has made an admission on his future in a chat with Sky Sports.