West Ham still want Lingard, so why hasn't he left Man Utd yet?

Stefan Bienkowski

• 20 Aug 2021 21:28 BST
• 5 min read

West Ham manager David Moyes has admitted that he would still be interested in bringing Jesse Lingard back to the club this season.

The Manchester United forward has fallen out of favour at Old Trafford and took an opportunity to join the Hammers on loan in January to regain some confidence and form.

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The move to London worked out tremendously well for all involved, as Lingard bagged nine goals and five assists in just 16 games.

And, while Lingard remains a back-up player in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s squad, it seems as though Moyes still holds some hope of convincing the forward to move back to West Ham.

“Jesse is a Manchester United player,” Moyes said in a press conference on Friday, according to the Manchester Evening News.

“I mean the questions are not for me, the questions are for Manchester United. But you know we enjoyed having him.

“If the opportunity arose for us to get Jesse we would be interested, but in my mind he’s at Manchester United and it is not for us to discuss.”

Why hasn’t Lingard left Man Utd?

Following Moyes and West Ham’s struggles to hide their admiration for Lingard, it seems odd that the player hasn’t yet made a move to the Hammers or a club of a similar size in pursuit of regular football.

However, when asked about the possibility of Lingard leaving the club this week Solskjaer suggested that the striker may still hold some hope of forcing his way back into the Man Utd starting XI this season.

“I think Jesse's first priority is to get into our team, whenever your employer is Man Utd that's your first priority, it always is. We can have great moments together,” Solskjaer said.

“As a manager, with the players and a squad I've got now, it's difficult to say this weekend you're not playing. I've got to leave players out of the starting XI and squad. But they all have to remember they're going to play a part if we're going to be successful. Jesse has come back in good shape, he's got a big part to play.”