While on loan from Manchester United for the second half of the 2020-21 season, Jesse Lingard enjoyed the best period of his career. Scoring 9 goals in 16 appearances for West Ham United, he helped fire the Irons to their highest Premier League season point total ever, as they came up just one point shy UEFA Champions League qualification.
The Hammers were interested in signing Lingard from United, in the next two transfer windows, but Old Trafford was too inept and unmotivated to get it done.
Instead of getting paid, either time, United let Lingard go on a free, and the English international signed with Nottingham Forest. Now it looks like West Ham will finally get Lingard, and they’ll do so for free.
According to the Daily Mail, West Ham will offer him a one season deal that will be highly incentivized in nature.
Lingard had no goals or assists in 17 league appearances for the Tricky Trees last term, just two goals scored in 20 overall games.
Thus, Forest let his deal run down and the 30-year-old winger was looking to set to join D.C. United, in MLS, but that potential deal collapsed. He’s since been training with West Ham at their Rush Green complex, and has impressed enough to be nearing a short term deal.
However, the contract will be less guaranteed money in nature, and more incentivized compensation based pay. That is because manager David Moyes is understood to have some concerns about the player’s motivation and fitness level.
So it sounds like kind of a tricky situation, and now there is even more material for comparing Lingard to Jadon Sancho (more on that here).
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.