David Moyes breaks his silence on Jesse Lingard as West Ham attempt to prevent Wolves from hijacking the club.
West Ham United manager David Moyes has been questioned about free agent Jesse Lingard, who is now training with the club but is also being chased by Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Lingard has already made one appearance for West Ham, having spent the second part of the 2020-21 season on loan at the London Stadium. Under Moyes, the attacking midfielder regained his form, scoring nine goals and providing five assists in 16 games and helping West Ham qualify for the Europa League the next season.
That summer, West Ham attempted to make the loan move permanent, but Lingard remained at parent club Manchester United.
When he left Manchester United on a free transfer last summer, West Ham were once again predicted to sign him. Lingard, surprisingly, turned down their offers and instead joined Nottingham Forest.
Lingard, though, was unable to recreate his West Ham form at the City Ground and is now a free agent once more. On September 5, it was revealed that Moyes is willing to reconcile with Lingard, but only if the player demonstrates his commitment to obtaining a starting spot first.
However, it was later revealed that Wolves are hoping to derail West Ham’s pursuit of the Englishman by signing him first.
Lingard is progressing well in terms of fitness, according to Moyes, who appeared on talkSPORT. However, the manager refused to say whether West Ham will eventually grant him a contract.
“Jesse has trained with us for three weeks and he’s improved greatly from when he first came in,” Moyes added.
Lingard is ‘in pretty terrific shape,’ according to Moyes.
“He’s in really good shape – much better shape than he was when he first came in.”
“I have to say, when Jesse first joined us two years ago, I believe he scored nine goals in 15 games and was probably the difference between us making it into Europe for the first time.”
“I want to give him every chance to get back into shape and see how he does.”
“So there’s no real update on it right now, other than to say he’s back and getting much closer to the levels of fitness that you’d hope he’d be.”
Lingard’s return to West Ham is the most natural next step. He is already familiar with the club and has a solid rapport with the boss.
Following challenging experiences at Manchester United and Forest, these factors should enable him succeed once more.
Meanwhile, Liverpool’s two-man shortlist of Mo Salah replacements has been finalized, and it includes a West Ham star.
