West Ham United boss David Moyes will be encouraged by news emerging from Manchester United about Jesse Lingard this week.
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West Ham were heavily linked with Manchester United outcast Jesse Lingard in the summer.
A host of source including 90 Min and The Independent claimed Moyes wanted a reunion with Lingard at West Ham as he fell further down the pecking order at Old Trafford.
Lingard’s contract is up in the summer – although the Red Devils do hold a one-year extension option – and West Ham were hoping for a cut-price deal.
Hammers boss Moyes wanted Lingard reunion
West Ham’s task was made difficult, though, when Lingard’s high-profile agent Mino Raiola started hawking his client around some of Europe’s top clubs trying to facilitate a move.
That did not come to fruition and Lingard’s future at Man United looks increasingly bleak. That’s after the signings of Bruno Fernandes and Donny van de Beek, the emergence of Scott McTominay, the resurgence of Fred and the pressure on Solskjaer to find a place for Paul Pogba.
So West Ham and Moyes may well be encouraged by news this week that Lingard has parted company with Raiola and handed responsibility for the next step of his career to his family (ESPN).
According to ESPN Lingard is ‘eager to play more’. He hasn’t featured since a Carabao Cup game in September.
Encouragement for West Ham as Lingard splits with high-profile agent who was hawking him around Europe’s elite to no avail
The West Ham target and Raiola remain on good terms following the split.
Whether West Ham will make a renewed bid for Lingard in January remains to be seen. If Manchester United do not activate their one year option, Lingard will be free to discuss a potential move with foreign clubs by then.
The midfielder may elect to wait until next summer where his options – and West Ham’s competition – will increase as a free agent.
But does Moyes really need him?
Yes West Ham need another central midfielder – possibly two – given the worrying over-reliance on Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek.
Do West Ham really need a Lingard?
The Hammers really need a box-to-box type such as Sheffield United’s John Lundstram. Or a more defensive minded midfielder rather than an attacking one like Lingard.
Moyes has committed to signing Said Benrahma for around £30million. That’s as long as he passes a second medical at the end of the season.
And he already has Pablo Fornals and Jarrod Bowen too.
Lingard turns 28 next month. And Moyes has been clear he wants to build a young, hardworking side with players hungry to prove themselves at the top level.
Whether Lingard fits any of that criteria is debatable, a good player though he is.
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