Jesse Lingard’s form since arriving at the London Stadium has seen the clamber for him to join on a permanent deal increase amongst the fanbase with every passing game.
Declan Rice said: “[He] is great personality as well and the lads have taken to him and I’m so happy we’ve got him here now at west ham and hopefully we can do that for much longer with next season as well.”
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer spoke about Lingard’s move in January and publicly at least left the door open for the player to return to Old Trafford.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said: “We want Jesse to come back here revitalised and having shown at West Ham how good a player he is,” he said, shortly before his switch was confirmed. He’s just been unfortunate with a couple of issues, some periods he had to stay away from us with COVID, isolation and close contact. [The] rest of the team has done well, little to no injuries, not forced his way into the team, come back and show he’s a Manchester United player through and through.”
Lingard is certainly looking revitalised and if he keeps playing as he has been the truth to Solskjaer’s claim he still has a future at Old Trafford will be thoroughly tested. When negotiating a loan deal with Manchester United, West Ham were unable to insert an option to buy clause into the contract. This means any attempt to sign the attacking-midfielder will begin from a fresh starting point in the summer.