Lingard: West Ham free up loan slot to sign Man Utd forward

Stefan Bienkowski

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 2 min read

West Ham’s decision to turn Said Benrahma’s loan deal at the club into a permanent transfer should pave the way for Manchester United forward Jesse Lingard to now join the club. 

The Algeria international joined the Hammer on loan from English Championship side Brentford in October and has now completed a move believed to cost the London club around £21.75 million. 

Premier League rules dictate that a club can only have two loan signings from another domestic club at any given time, and since West Ham also have Craig Dawson from Watford on their books it meant either Benrahma or Dawson would have to make way for Lingard. 

Now that the attacking midfielder has signed a permanent deal with the Hammers, it means the club will now be able to confirm the loan deal for Lingard, which is expected to be announced later today. 

David Moyes will undoubtedly be delighted to bring Lingard to the club before the January transfer window shuts, having spent much of the month trying to bolster his attacking options. 

After selling Sebastien Haller to Ajax, the London club were left with just one traditional striker in their ranks in the form of Michail Antonio. 

Although Lingard has struggled for game time at Man Utd this season – with just three cup appearances for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side to date – the 28-year-old forward will be hoping to get back amongst the goals along with some regular game time at West Ham. 

However, the Man Utd player will likely have to prove his worth before he’ll be guaranteed a starting role in Moyes’ side, with things going surprisingly well for West Ham at the moment. 

Lingard will be joining a side that currently sit fifth in the English top flight, just five points below the team the forward has struggled to get a game for this season.