Glen Johnson believes Jesse Lingard might have missed out on a great opportunity after failing to move to West Ham United.
The Jesse Lingard and West Ham United transfer saga dragged until deadline day. A move never materialised, but questions have been asked to understand the situation. David Moyes was very keen on re-signing the attacking midfielder after his exploits last season.
Although there are suggestions, both clubs reportedly failed to agree over a fee; Lingard himself was not completely convinced with the move and allegedly rejected the chance late in the window. The Hammers were prepared to pay a fee but far less than Manchester United valued the England international at.
West Ham then signed Nikola Vlasic on deadline day, suggesting they might have ended their interest in Lingard for the time being. Moyes desperately wanted to sign an attacking midfielder to boost the club’s attacking numbers and replace the quality Lingard offered in the second half of last season.
Earlier in the window, when the topic of Lingard’s future was hot, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hinted at keeping the midfielder, suggesting he could feature in his plans this season. However, Manchester United have since made some attacking signings in Jadon Sancho and Cristiano Ronaldo, which might pin Lingard further behind the pecking order.
Former Liverpool full-back Glen Johnson has expressed his dismay at Lingard’s decision not to join West Ham. He was surprised that a move never materialised, thinking Manchester United were not entirely desperate to keep hold of the attacking midfielder.
Johnson said, “I think both Jesse and West Ham will be a bit gutted. He was enjoying his football, he was playing well, and the Hammers loved him, so I don’t know why that deal didn’t go through.
“Surely Manchester United weren’t that desperate to keep hold of him as they’ve signed a couple of attacking players this summer, so for me, Jesse is even further down the pecking order than he was this time last year.
“It’s blown my mind how this transfer didn’t happen, but who knows? Maybe there’s the chance for another loan deal in January with hopefully an option to buy at the end of the season. For Jesse personally, he’s missed a good opportunity to get himself a good contract and to be a Hammer. I think he’s let one go there.”
