It’s all part of the Carrick deal as ex West Ham man’s Jesse Lingard snub surely seals January transfer move back to the London Stadium.
West Ham fans of a certain age will recognise the phrase ‘It’s all part of the Carrick deal’.
It was born out of Michael Carrick’s departure from West Ham to bitter rivals Tottenham for a paltry £3.5m before he then moved on to Manchester United.
The phrase is often said in jest as a variety of rumours circulated at the time about what West Ham were getting from Carrick’s move – and again when he left Tottenham for Old Trafford.
Well now, 17 years on, West Ham may well be getting something significant from Carrick’s move to Man United nearly two decades ago.
Because it could be the interim Man United manager’s complete snub of Hammers target Jesse Lingard that seals the deal for the midfield ace to return to the London Stadium on a permanent basis.
As exclusively reported by Hammers News yesterday, Man United expert Dan Coombs from United in Focus said the Lingard to West Ham move could be very much on despite the two clubs being in direct competition for a Champions League place.
Man United’s change of manager following the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had the potential to alter the landscape.
It’s all part of the Carrick deal as ex West Ham man’s Jesse Lingard snub surely seals January transfer
And all eyes were on Man United last night as former West Ham academy graduate Carrick took charge for the first time against Villarreal in the Champions League.
The Red Devils won 2-0 to seal top spot in their group with goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho.
But crucially for West Ham, Lingard was completely snubbed – being left on the bench.
After the game West Ham fans took to social media to suggest Carrick’s snub would surely seal Lingard’s move to the London Stadium in January.
As Coombs told Hammers News, Man United will only be interested in a permanent deal given Lingard is out of contract at the end of the season and will demand between £10-15m.
The United in Focus Old Trafford expert said the Red Devils will have to let Lingard join his preferred club in the winter window as they have ‘treated him badly recently’ and need to ‘avoid it becoming even more of a PR disaster’.
It may have taken 17 years but it seems something significant really was part of the Carrick deal!