Former Tottenham favourite questions why the club didn’t sign Jesse Lingard

Martin Macdonald

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

Tottenham missed an opportunity when they allowed Jesse Lingard to move from Man Utd to West Ham, according to Garth Crooks.

Prior to the January transfer window, Lingard had not played a single minute of Premier League football for the Red Devils in 2020/21, with his appearances being reduced to cup competitions only.

It seemed inevitable then that Lingard would leave either permanently or on loan, and before he headed to West Ham a number of sides in the Premier League had been credited with an interest along with the Hammers, including Spurs, Sheffield United, and Everton.

West Ham were the team who pushed hardest to sign the England international, though, and it has proved already to be a good piece of business as he has made a flying start to his career at the London Stadium.

In four appearances, he has scored three goals already, including at the weekend when he scored what turned out to be the winner against Tottenham.

Crooks wonders why Jose Mourinho, who previously worked with Lingard at Man Utd, would not have tried harder to sign a player whom he “desperately” need.

“The Manchester United loanee is having a ball in east London,” he wrote in his BBC column.

“David Moyes and Jose Mourinho are former managers of Manchester United and both know exactly what Lingard can do.

“I find it particularly interesting that it is Moyes who has given Lingard a chance to rejuvenate his career, when it was Spurs who desperately needed him. Lingard is playing out of his skin.”

West Ham and Tottenham are experiencing vastly different fortunes in the 2020/21 season, as while Mourinho’s side are languishing down in ninth, having won just 10 out of their 24 matches so far, the Hammers are flying in high in fourth in the Champions League qualification positions.

On Sunday, the aforementioned goal from Lingard plus a strike from Michail Antonio was enough to cancel out Lucas Moura’s second-half effort to allow West Ham to defeat Tottenham 2-1.