Jesse Lingard has dropped a heavy hint that he could soon be a permanent fixture at the club given how well he is settling in to West Ham United.
It’s been pretty clear to most that he could hardly be more enthusiastic on the pitch but now he has spoken about a settling in procedure which sounds more than encouraging for those who want him to become a permanent fixture at the club.
Negotiations with Man United are likely to be tough but there’s room for optimism that it will happen shortly after the season ends with the player sounding keen to make things happen.
He told www.whufc.com: “I’m obviously really enjoying my football and I’ve settled in really well and the lads have taken to me really well.
“I’ve come here to play football week-in, week-out and that’s what I’m doing. Playing football makes me happy and when we win and play like we did on Sunday.
“It’s about doing it consistently and that’s maybe where I’ve struggled before, doing it consistently in games, but I can feel now I’m coming to an age where I can keep that consistency and focus and concentration coming into games and playing games week-in, week-out which I haven’t been used to.”
Throughout his career, Lingard has been a big-match player, scoring for Manchester United in FA Cup, EFL Cup and FA Youth Cup final wins, playing his part as the Red Devils won the UEFA Europa League in 2017, and starting as England finished fourth at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and third at the 2019 UEFA Nations League finals.
And the No11 is hoping that mentality and experience will be of benefit to West Ham as they seek to maintain their challenge for a European place.
He said: “I’ve been around teams who have won trophies at Manchester United so I know about the winning mentality and what effect that can have on the team, so I’m just trying to bring my experience and do well for the team and see how high we can get in the table,” he explained.
“We’re very confident at the moment and we’re going into every game fully focused on getting the three points, no matter how we do it.”
West Ham will need to be at their very best when they step onto the pitch to face Premier League leaders Manchester City at Etihad Stadium on Saturday lunchtime.
“We’re a team that likes to go forward and play on the front foot,” he confirmed. “We like to press as well, so we can kind of bring that energy when we’re pressing and force the opponents into making mistakes.”
Saturday’s game will be broadcast live in the UK by BT Sport 1 and BT Sport Ultimate, with kick-off at 12.30pm.
