New West Ham Transfer Target Likely Squeeze Move On United

The links between West Ham and Jesse Lingard seem verified but the haggling over a loan fee is causing tension. Enter a new midfield target to add pressure and force Lingard’s move to the Hammers.

The player in question is Chelsea’s, Billy Gilmour. The 19-year-old midfielder has shown a lot of potential in his limited time in Chelsea’s first team. On the opposite side of this midfield loan tug of war is Jesse Lingard, the 28-year-old versatile midfielder left out of Manchester United’s team.

Lingard is set for a loan in January and it all but seems destined to be with West Ham. His contract is up at the end of next season and with limited to no first-team football at the moment, Lingard needs to make a move for his career’s sake.

The loan fee being disputed is apparently between £1m to £1.5m with the Hammers wanting to not exceed seven digits for a player that is technically a backup for the current squad, on a deal that would require the player’s full wages to be paid by West Ham, and on a deal with no option or view to buy the player.

David Moyes is keen to bolster West Ham’s midfield via a loan, but will it be Jesse Lingard or Billy Gilmour who joins this impressive Hammers team?

After this transfer negotiation was made public, West Ham were linked with Chelsea’s Gilmour almost immediately, with a story surrounding Gilmour’s desire to be loaned out to push for a first-team place in Scotland’s international team.

To create a link to West Ham, David Moyes’s comments regarding Gilmour were brought up where he facetiously said, in response to Chelsea hunting Declan Rice last summer:

"“I was laughing because I keep getting told that Chelsea want Declan Rice, so I thought well I might just decide I want Billy Gilmour and see how it goes.”"

So, is there any validity in the links between David Moyes’ West Ham and Chelsea’s star prospect Billy Gilmour? Maybe! Moyes is clearly a fan of Gilmour and is a Scottish football manager, clearly has eyes on not only his Premier League competition, but also his home countries own top prospects.

Outside of these very visible links, I doubt there is much in this link and instead it is being used as a pressure point to conclude Lingard’s pending transfer for a smaller fee. Lingard, who was linked partially due to his time working with Moyes at United, should be as keen to join the Hammers as they are to have him.

Gilmour on loan would be a weird move anyway. Why develop Chelsea’s young talent on a deal that would more than likely exclude a view or obligation to buy when they would clearly be the only long-term benefactors of this deal?

Maybe this theory is wrong. Maybe it isn’t just the low hanging fruit due to Chelsea’s turn to Thomas Tuchel as manager who sat almost every English Chelsea player in his first match in charge of the club. Either way, expect Lingard, not Gilmour to be a West Ham player and don’t bite on lofty transfer rumours!