Jesse Lingard appears to have dropped his biggest hint yet that he wants to stay at West Ham United.
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Lingard has been a revelation since signing for West Ham on loan from Manchester United last month.
Three goals and an assist in his first four games has helped put West Ham up to fourth in the Premier League table.
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West Ham are enjoying their best season for 35 years. And David Moyes’s side are just four points behind Lingard’s parent club Man United in second.
Hammers fans have been calling on the club to get a deal in place to sign the 28-year-old permanently in the summer.
Lingard only has a year left on his Red Devils contract. West Ham insiders Claret & Hugh claimed earlier this month that it was ‘likely’ Lingard would remain a Hammer next season for a fee between £10-15m.
But the midfielder’s performances have been so good it has given rise to speculation other clubs – such as Leicester City – are interested (Eurosport).
There has even been reports that Man United want to keep him (ESPN).
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Lingard will have the ultimate say, though.
And he has dropped the biggest hint yet he wants to stay at West Ham – because they are giving him exactly what he wants for the rest of his career.
Speaking to West Ham’s official website Lingard said he is focused on playing every single week because ‘nothing can top that’.
And he simply will not do that at Man United or even Leicester given the players they have in the positions Lingard plays.
Indeed Lingard says he is only now playing so well because he realises he must be starting games every week to make the most of his ability.
‘Nothing can top that’ Lingard drops biggest hint yet that he wants to stay at West Ham
“I’m obviously really enjoying my football and I’ve settled in really well and the lads have taken to me really well,” Lingard told whufc.com.
“I’ve come here to play football week-in, week-out and that’s what I’m doing.
“Playing football makes me happy and when we win and play like we did on Sunday (when I scored in a 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur), nothing can top that.
“It’s about doing it consistently and that’s maybe where I’ve struggled before, doing it consistently in games, but I can feel now I’m coming to an age where I can keep that consistency and focus and concentration coming into games and playing games week-in, week-out which I haven’t been used to.”
West Ham must do everything they can to get a deal agreed with Man United for Lingard.
The likes of Rio Ferdinand have rightly pointed out that he simply will not get regular game time at Man United (Daily Mail).
He may make the squad for the odd cup game but Lingard has now made it clear he wants to be starting every week in the Premier League.
Over to you David Sullivan and David Gold.
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