West Ham could be set to look to Manchester United’s fiercest rivals as an alternative to bringing Jesse Lingard back to the club. Lingard made a huge impression during his six-month loan spell at the Hammers in the second half of last season, scoring nine and providing five assists in 16 games. Despite David Moyes’ eagerness to bring Lingard back on a permanent deal, their pursuit of the 28-year-old doesn’t look it will yield a breakthrough at this moment in time. United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer even dropped a hint that he will remain at Old Trafford for the upcoming season. When asked what new signing Jadon Sancho would bring to United,
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said: “It shows the fans that we mean business. We hope that we’ve got one of the best forwards in England for the next 10, 12 years. We’ve got Marcus – 23, we’ve got Mason (Greenwood) who is a young lad. So we have got an English core there and then we’ve got the added experience with Edinson (Cavani), Anthony (Martial), Bruno (Fernandes), Jesse is coming back.”
West Ham though need to strengthen ahead of a season in which they will compete in the Uefa Europa League and might have to look at alternatives to Lingard. The Daily Express has reported that Moyes could turn his attentions to Liverpool playmaker Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as a possible solution. It is said the Hammers hope that the 27-year-old could make a similar impact to Lingard if he was to leave United’s rivals. The Liverpool midfielder would have a lot to live up to as Lingard’s replacement after the United player was one of the driving forces behind the Hammers’ push for a sixth-placed finish in the second-half of last season.
