Nikola Vlasic was in great form at the weekend against Leeds.
He is clearly coming into his own at the London Stadium, the kind of player that manager David Moyes can genuinely rely on.
While he has yet to string together a run of starts, his form was rewarded recently with a goal in the 4-1 thumping of Watford.
He also laid on assists against both Spurs and Rapid Vienna, in the EFL Cup and the Europa League respectively.
Yesterday he was excellent in tight positions, always finding an out ball, however heavily marked he may have been.
However, the Hammers continue to be linked with Jesse Lingard and he would genuinely improve the Hammers’ frontline.
He was a goalscoring sensation during his initial loan spell at the London Stadium.
And he would allow the Hammers to field a team on the same principles as Manchester City at the top end of the Premier League table.
Pep Guardiola’s side regularly line up without a striker, trusting their technically gifted attacking midfielders and wingers to get on the ball and interchange positions, while also fluidly retaining possession. It works. City are top of the league and 10 points clear of second-placed Chelsea.
Bringing Jesse back would allow the Hammers to play a similar way.
They already have Jarrod Bowen, Said Benrahma, Manus Lanzini and Vlasic, along with Pablo Fornals; add Lingard into that mix, particularly if Mikey Antonio needs resting, and you’ve got a genuinely excellent mix of attributes and skills that can link up and dovetail.
Add Antonio up front and that’s a really potent cocktail.
Jesse needs to come back this month.
100% agree.
West Ham are not Manchester City and whereas Lingard would be a useful but unnecessary addition to the squad what is needed is an out and out striker. Antonio can’t keep on going forever and his successor needs to be brought in. Going forward Antonio’s best role would be coming on as a sub. to replace the first choice or to complement him. If we can get Lingard on the cheap then he is an option, but otherwise spend the money where it’s needed.
I have previously stated that I had changed my mind on several occasions regarding Jesse joining us and the negatives were mostly induced by rumour and speculation overload. Having supported this club for many a year, I have concluded that as long as we can afford Jesse and he wants to play for us, it then becomes a No Brainer to get him here.
Quality and Class is permanent and Jesse is a top-level player who will Only improve the team and accelerate any ambitions that this club has. For most of my time as a supporter, I have watched quality players arrive late in their careers, they still had the quality but were well past their best. Jesse is the exception and is a player with a lot to prove.
Get him if we can is my view.
Lingard was brilliant for us no doubt but for me he had to sign for us during the summer. When he did not sign for us it told me everything I needed to know. Instead we signed Vlasic so we have moved on. I much prefer the link to El Ghazi, younger, cheaper and a better player who can play as a 9. We need another forward player, ideally a player who can play as a 9.
His manager point blank refused to let him come to us in the summer. Lingard had no say in it whatsoever.
I see the action of getting in Lingard as a replacement of the last attacking midfielder that we have (Yarmolenko). Whether it happens this January or in the summer, that is a good swap and a definite upgrade on the current situation.
We still need a striker, but that’s a separate problem.
Lingard would not necessarily be an automatic selection in the Irons team either. Regardless of the fee, it’s big wages for a player who is luke-warm about joining us but can’t get in the Man U side – if he could he wouldn’t give us a thought. He is using us as a backstop but we could just be moving past him now.