West Ham United boss David Moyes is having one of the best seasons in his career with the Hammers, and despite getting some names in the summer, he was disappointed by the fact that the club couldn’t find a way to bring back Jesse Lingard, who spent the second half of last season with them on loan.
The midfielder had a massive revival outing with the London side last season, scoring nine times across 16 appearances and helped them finish sixth in the Premier League, winning them a Europa League spot. Manchester United wanted a figure of around 30 million pounds to ship him away on a permanent deal and were unwilling to accept a loan deal with his contract expires in June 2022.
After negotiations between West Ham and Manchester United failed, and the 28-year-old ended up staying with the latter and had some noteworthy moments. Despite conceding a horrendous winner against Young Boys in the Champions League, he netted crucial goals against Newcastle United and West Ham, but struggled to get starts.
Ahead of his the London derby clash against league-leaders Chelsea, Moyes spoke to the press and spoke about Lingard. He mentioned that it feels bad to see him not get starts but acknowledged the fact that he played a massive part in his side’s progress in the second half of last season.
“I can’t really talk about him because he’s a Manchester United player and it’s not for me to talk. But he was really good for us. Jesse knows what we all think of him here. My disappointment for Jesse would be, I think he’s such a talented football player and he’s not playing.
He played a big part in our second half of last season. But you’d have to give credit to the players here, they’ve moved on without Jesse. People might have thought Jesse made a difference here. But the players have moved on and stepped to another level themselves. But I’ve got to say, Jesse was a big part of that,”
Moyes said.
Lingard, whose legal stay with the Red Devils will end at the end of this season, making him a free agent, is looking to find a club in January, with West Ham once again in consideration to get the player. Multiple reports suggest he is pushing the club to find a deal with potential buyers, and there is no indication to suggest that new manager Ralf Rangnick is adamant to keep him in the club.
From having to survive a relegation battle when the 58-year-old picked up the job in 2019, the turnaround in fortunes powered by Moyes has been one of the stories in the Premier League. The manager himself had a lot to prove, having had troublesome spells at Manchester United, Real Sociedad, Sunderland, and his first stint with West Ham in 2017. He did not pick up a job after leaving the Hammers in 2018, only to rejoin them a year later.
West Ham United got off to a sensational start in the season, picking up some massive results against Manchester United and Manchester City in the League Cup, also inflicting Liverpool’s only defeat of the season in a frantic 3-2 win at the London Stadium. They currently find themselves in the top four, but the race for it will be intense as the season progresses.
In the coming weeks, they face Burnley, Norwich and Arsenal in the league, before another London derby against Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup quarterfinal. They also have three successive fixtures in five days before the new year international break, making it a tough month of football for the side.
