News has broken that West Ham have made a £6 million bid for out of favour Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard. The club were linked with the attacker earlier in the window but with a loan move.
That move never materialised, however, and now the club are going after Lingard on a permanent deal. The Hammers are at their limit on domestic loans because of the existing loans of Craig Dawson and Said Benrahma.
The fact that the club are making a permanent move for Lingard must show David Moyes’ willingness to bring him to London. Lingard a couple of seasons ago was valued at nearly £40 million after having a purple patch of form. Since then the 28-year-old has suffered a fall from grace which has seen his value drop.
Jesse Lingard could join West Ham for a ‘small fee’ after falling out of favour at Manchester United.
Lingard is yet to make an appearance in the Premier League this season. Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær has preferred to play Bruno Fernandes, Mason Greenwood and Marcus Rashford in the attacking midfield positions.
Despite no deal being agreed on yet, there is little reason for United to want to keep hold of the player. The former England international will have a lot to prove should the move happen and will have to challenge to get into an impressive West Ham team.
Lingard plays in a similar role to Said Benrahma, Jarrod Bowen and Pablo Fornals. The Hammer’s trio have been excellent this season and will not want to give up their spots in the first-team without a fight.
Moyes, however, could potentially see Lingard as a better option than the ageing Andriy Yarmolenko and declining Manuel Lanzini. The £6 million is likely to be deducted from the money brought into the club from Sebastien Haller’s sale.
West Ham would offer Lingard a chance to rebuild his career and Moyes knows him well from his brief stint as the Red Devils boss. Though a negative of the deal is seeing the club’s striker budget dwindle down further.