West Ham’s bid to bring Jesse Lingard back to the club over the summer fell through after a personal conversation between David Moyes and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Ahead of a league and cup double-header between the Hammers and Manchester United, Moyes has opened up on why Lingard did not return to east London. Lingard’s fine loan spell with the Hammers saw him return to the England fold and Moyes was clear that he wanted the 28-year-old to be part of his squad going forward. Solskjaer, however, had other ideas.
David Moyes said: “Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] made it clear to me quite early in the transfer window that he wanted to keep him. So I knew pretty early in the transfer window that he was staying at Manchester United. I had a private conversation with Ole who made it clear that he was staying.”
Since that conversation, Manchester United have added Cristiano Ronaldo to their squad, along with Jadon Sancho, and Moyes admitted the Portuguese superstar’s arrival could play a part in Lingard’s long-term future.
David Moyes said: “I hope in many ways Jesse will look at the time [at West Ham] and how well the players treated him and made him welcome that Jesse would look at that as well, so it may change. He was great for us, but simply the manager told me that he was keeping him and when that happens I believe the manager and that’s the way it went.”
Ahead of the matches with his former club, Moyes reflected on his own spell in Manchester.
David Moyes said: “Yeah, I do. I saw it as a huge opportunity to manage the biggest club in the world. And I don’t blame anybody else bar myself. I needed to win more games. If you manage the biggest club in the world then you have to win the games and, unfortunately, I didn’t win enough games, but Ole is doing a really good job.”
