West Ham given new hope in Jesse Lingard pursuit | OneFootball

West Ham have been handed new hope in their pursuit of former loan star Jesse Lingard after an encouraging update emerged this week…

What’s the word?

According to The Sun, Manchester United will look to sell the England international in a cut-price £15m deal this January, should he not sign a contract extension.

Lingard remained at Old Trafford to try and fight for his place under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but that hasn’t gone to plan, despite the Red Devils hierarchy offering him a new deal in the region of £135k-per-week.

Should West Ham revisit Lingard in January?

United do not want to risk losing him for nothing in the summer, so they are prepared to sell him for half of what the Irons were said to be quoted (£30m) in the summer.

The 28-year-old is open to staying, having been at the club for over 20 years, but would like to be reassured about his playing time – something he may find difficult following the arrivals of Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho this summer.

January repeat?

It was no secret that West Ham wanted Lingard to return after a sensation loan spell last season, that much was made obvious by the management staff in the press.:

Following the final game of the season, Hammers boss David Moyes told reporters, via the Evening Standard:

“I hope Jesse’s here, we’d like to keep him, he’s done an exceptional job for us but there’s no guarantees, he’s not our player. But I hope Jesse realises we’ve been good for him as well, and that he joined a club on the up.”

That view was reinforced by his assistant Stuart Pearce right before the transfer deadline.

“We would like him to come and join us. That has been an open secret. He was wonderful last year,” he told talkSPORT before later adding: “We would like him with us, there is no doubt about that. He’s a special lad and was very good around the players – the players really like him.”

You’d imagine if there was an opportunity to sign him in the winter, the pair of them would certainly consider it, with good reason too as the English maestro contributed nine goals and five assists in just 16 appearances to help steer the east Londoners into the Europa League.

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Can you name all 10 ex-Hammers? First up... He assisted the first goal at the London Stadium but made only 8 appearances for the Irons, who is he?

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The Irons did bolster their attacking midfielder department with a considerable investment in former Everton flop Nikola Vlasic, who signed from CSKA Moscow in a €30m (£26m) deal.

But he has struggled to adapt to life back in the Premier League and looks a shadow of Lingard, in most aspects so far, having failed to contribute a single goal or assist in six outings.

Lingard would slot right back in at the London Stadium and for just £15m, it would be quite the steal and it saves the risk of him signing elsewhere, particularly abroad on a pre-contract agreement.

His game time at Old Trafford will continue to remain slim barring any major injuries or suspensions, so he would surely be open to returning to West Ham.

This latest update should leave many around east London buzzing, including Moyes and Pearce.