David Moyes breaks silence on Jesse Lingard as West Ham move to prevent Wolves hijack

David Moyes has been quizzed about West Ham United signing free agent Jesse Lingard, who is currently training with the club but is also being pursued by Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Lingard has already played for West Ham once, having spent the second half of the 2020-21 season on loan at the London Stadium. The attacking midfielder got back to his best under Moyes, registering nine goals and five assists in 16 games and helping West Ham qualify for the following season’s Europa League.

West Ham tried to make the loan move permanent that summer, only to see Lingard remain at parent club Manchester United.

And West Ham were once again tipped to sign him when he left Man Utd on a free transfer last summer. Surprisingly, Lingard rejected their advances and instead went to Nottingham Forest.

Lingard struggled to replicate his West Ham form at the City Ground though and is now a free agent once again. On September 5, it emerged that Moyes is eager to reunite with Lingard, but only if the player shows first that he is committed to gaining a starting place.

However, it was then revealed that Wolves are aiming to disrupt West Ham’s swoop for the Englishman by completing his signing first.

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During an appearance on talkSPORT, Moyes stated that Lingard is progressing well in terms of his fitness. However, the manager remained tight-lipped on whether West Ham will end up offering him a contract.

“Jesse has trained with us for three weeks and he’s improved greatly from when he first came in,” Moyes said.

Lingard ‘in really good condition’, says Moyes

“He’s in really good condition – much better condition than he was when he first came in.

“I have to say, when Jesse joined us two years ago I think he scored nine goals in 15 games and was probably the difference between us getting into Europe for the first time.

“I want to give him every opportunity to get himself back in condition and see how he does.

“So there’s no real update on it at the moment, just to say that he’s back and getting much closer to the levels of fitness where you’d hope he would be.”

A return to West Ham is the most logical next step for Lingard. He already knows the club well and has a good relationship with the manager, too.

These factors should help him thrive once again, following difficult spells at Man Utd and Forest.

Meanwhile, Liverpool have finalised their two-man shortlist of Mo Salah replacements, and it includes a West Ham ace.