Trevor Sinclair suggested that West Ham United signing Jesse Lingard on loan from Manchester United in January was somewhat of an unnecessary move, when speaking to Jim White on talkSPORT yesterday.
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The Hammers failed to sign a striker in January despite having Michail Antonio as their only recognised senior centre-forward.
And let’s be honest here, Michy isn’t a natural striker either!
David Moyes has big concerns ahead of Monday’s clash with Sheffield United at the London Stadium.
Antonio is a major doubt with tight hamstrings whilst Andriy Yarmolenko could be out for the rest of the season with knee ligament damage.
Failing to sign an established centre-forward in January now looks like a huge mistake from West Ham. We all called it at the time, however. It was so obvious to see that going with what we had up front was going to be a catastrophic error.
The Hammers did sign Jesse Lingard on loan from Manchester United until the end of the season.
Trevor Sinclair – Jesse Lingard an unnecessary addition for West Ham
The 28-year-old has already proven to be a very strong addition to Moyes’s West Ham team.
Sinclair told talkSPORT how he believes bringing Lingard to the London Stadium was an unnecessary move, however:
“Talking about Jesse Lingard, I’m not so sure. I know David Moyes has worked with him before. He is a good player, or he has been in the past. But you look at his record; 2017/18 – 33 games and eight goals in the Premier League. In 18/19 he had 27 and four, then you go to 19/20 and he only played 22 games and scored one goal. So, for me, I don’t think he is necessary.”
Perhaps that is a little harsh assessment from Sinclair, although we can certainly see where he is coming from.
The 28-year-old has given West Ham an added impetus to their attacking play and he has certainly raised the standards in the attacking midfield department at the London Stadium.
Had Moyes brought an established hitman to West Ham in January as well as signing Lingard on loan, it would have been an impressive window.
But our failure to sign a striker sort of dampened the hype around the deal to sign the Manchester United ace.
And that is clearly what Sinclair was getting at when speaking on talkSPORT yesterday.
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