West Ham co chairman David Gold has  swiped back at a Twitter jibe after being attacked for congratulating Jesse Lingard on being called up for England.

The co chairman – having heaped praise on the Hammers loanee following his remarkable achievement – received a  response from one of those seemingly not in love with the board.

The fan – Andy Cowan – couldn’t resist taking a pop saying:  “And too think we nearly lost out because you quibble at the loan fee.”

Gold was not in the mood to let that comment stand without reply and posted “We didn’t quibble, we negotiated the best deal we could and out-bid all other interested clubs. dg”

In his earlier message he had said: “ “Jesse Lingard has returned to the England squad for this month’s World Cup qualifying triple-header, reflecting his remarkable turnaround in east London. Congratulations Jesse. Good luck. dg”

West Ham are reported to have paid Manchester United a £1.5m loan fee, £2.5m in wages plus a £500,000 bonus if the Hammers qualify for Europe for Lingard’s services for six months.

Leicester City, Everton and Newcastle United were all said to interested in Lingard over the winter transfer window but it was David Moyes – probably via his special relationship with the player – was the one who secured his services.