When the news broke recently that West Ham United cult hero Jesse Lingard would be leaving FC Seoul, it did not take long for the cogs to start whirring.
Could Lingard, who capped his farewell tour as only he can with a moonwalk Michael Jackson himself would have been proud of, still have a role to play in the Premier League?
Lingard may have half an eye on an acting career – watch out Eric Cantona – but is there one last job for him back home in England first? Well, the fact that the former England international is being described in such terms, like Michael Caine being wheeled out to exposition dump on Christopher Nolan’s latest three-hour mind-melter, rather sums up how quickly Lingard’s top-flight reputation has unravelled at the age of just 32.
Five years ago, Jesse Lingard was winning awards with West Ham. As loan spells go, this was about as impactful as any in modern Premier League history. Now, at an age where many players hit their prime, he leaves Korea looking, well, to keep his career alive.
Jesse Lingard is West Ham’s BEST ever Premier League loanee! Discuss…
And would you take him back at 32?
Raheem Sterling, only one year shy of Lingard, finds himself in a somewhat similar position. Albeit without the East Asian sojourn. Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca was brutal in his dismissal of Sterling following his return to Stamford Bridge after an Arsenal loan spell that was just about the complete opposite of Lingard’s wondrous West Ham United tale.
Still only 31, could the Hammers be the team to free Sterling from purgatory? Gabby Agbonlahor, the former Aston Villa captain, is not against the idea.
Gabby Agbonlahor discusses potential West Ham United escape for Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling
In truth, Agbonlahor does not really mind where Sterling goes next. So long as he finds himself back on the pitch, and away from the Chelsea ‘bomb squad’.
“We know what has happened. He’s not in the manager’s plans,” says Agbonlahor, who scored nearly a century of goals for West Ham’s weekend opponents, Aston Villa. “There will be a lot of people saying, ‘I don’t feel sorry for him, he’s a multi-millionaire, he’s got a massive house, everything he wants.’
“But forget the money, the riches. I’ve been through it. I’ve seen other players go through it. When you’re training alone or training with the kids, it can affect your mental health a lot. I am sure he’s going through it, and I hope he gets out of Chelsea in January.
“I don’t care where it is, what league it’s in. Go and play some football. Go abroad, to the MLS, Asia, wherever. You don’t want to look back and say, ‘This is the end of my career.’ It’s hard because I’ve seen this happen so many times.
“I think he could do a job [for West Ham]!,” Agbonlahor replied when asked if Sterling could emulate Lingard’s success in claret and blue. “I don’t think he’ll go to the top half of the Premier League. They won’t touch him.
“But it’s a shame to see him go out like this. Hopefully, they sort it out in January.”
A combined XI of stars who played for BOTH West Ham and Aston Villa!
How many of these players would get into Nuno's current XI?
West Ham looking at youth but Callum Wilson is the exception to the rule
Hammers News reported over the summer that there was a chance for West Ham to sign Raheem Sterling on loan. A four-time Premier League champion with Manchester City and a top-flight Centurion to boot, Sterling always wanted to stay in London and keep his family settled.
That may answer Agbonlahor’s query about why he did not pursue a move outside of Europe, let alone England.
West Ham, though, did not bite in August. And they seem unlikely to in January either, with young, high-potential talent the order of the day at the London Stadium.
Then again, considering the impact a 33-year-old Callum Wilson has made in claret and blue, perhaps there should still be room for the occasional experienced campaigner with a point to prove.
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