Big Sam Allardyce has taken a swipe at David Moyes for stealing Jesse Lingard from under his nose.

The ex-England boss has confirmed that he was trying to sign the Manchester United playmaker on loan for West Brom before he eventually joined West Ham.

Lingard, of course, went on to enjoy a sparkling spell at the London Stadium, even earning a recall to the England squad, and playing a key role in the Irons’ bid to qualify for Europe.

Allardyce has now claimed that the Baggies had laid the groundwork and had basically come to an agreement with Lingard over a loan deal, before Moyes and the Hammers got involved and snatched him away from them.

West Brom ended up finishing the season in 19th, but they were a huge 13 points behind Burnley, who finished in 17th, because they only won five games all season.

Quoted by Read West Brom, Big Sam said: “The biggest loss for me at West Brom was Jesse Lingard –  we should have got him in that January window.

“It was (David) Moyes’ fault that we didn’t get him. He was coming to The Hawthorns and then Moyesy popped up at the last minute and nabbed him. We’d had a long conversation with Jesse and his dad, as well as Manchester United, and we’d as good as come to an agreement.

“He definitely thought about it. That would have been really good for us, it would have given us an even bigger chance of staying up.”