Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer certainly picked an interesting time to give West Ham target Jesse Lingard a bit of praise.
“Jesse is training really hard, really well, and he’s ready and available for me,” said Manchester United’s under-fire manager, speaking to the club’s official website ahead of this weekend’s Premier League clash with Watford.
“He’s definitely disappointed he’s not played more, of course. But, for me, Jesse’s still a big important part of this squad. He gives energy and quality to the group every day.”
Now, if we’re being honest, Manchester United could probably do with some of that “energy and quality” on the pitch right now.
And given Lingard has played just 18 minutes of top-flight football since his last-gasp winner at West Ham United in mid-September, even the most ardent members of the ‘Ole In’ brigade wouldn’t blame the seldom-seen England international if he decided now was the time to cut ties with his boyhood club.
Will Lingard leave Manchester United for West Ham?
The timing of Solskjaer’s comments, then, don’t feel like a coincidence. After all, it was only at 10.30am this morning that The Mirror ran a story saying contract talks with Lingard had “broken down”.
The 28-year-old is due to become a free agent in the summer, of course. And, according to The Sun, United may be forced to accept bids in the region of £10 million come January as fears rise that Lingard will leave for nothing in July.
£10 million is a lot less than United were demanding in the spring – but it’s still better than nothing.
Newcastle and Tottenham Hotspur have been linked in recent times but one potential destination stands out as by far and away the most obvious.
Lingard’s stoppage-time screamer at the London Stadium two months ago may have come against West Ham. But he played perhaps the finest football of his career for them during that wondrous loan spell in the second half of last season.
In the end, Lingard opted to fight for his future at Old Trafford rather than sign a permanent deal with the Hammers. It’s painfully clear now, however, that this is a fight he isn’t going to win.
Here’s what some Manchester United fans on Twitter had to say about the Jesse Lingard to West Ham rumours:
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