Jesse Lingard set to feature for West Ham United in behind closed doors friendly during international break
Jesse Lingard is set to play for West Ham in a behind closed doors friendly during the international break despite late transfer interest from Wolves.
The former England international is a free agent after being released by Nottingham Forest and has been training with the Hammers all summer in a bid to stay fit and potentially earn a short-term deal.
Writing on his personal Twitter account (6 September), Sky Sports journalist Pete Graves reports that the attacking midfielder is now expected to play in a behind-closed-doors friendly during the international break despite Wolves making a move to sign him.
“Wolves and West Ham remain most likely destinations for free agent Jesse Lingard,” he wrote.
“Lingard has been training with West Ham and is in line to play in a behind closed doors friendly.
“But Wolves have arrived with late interest as they look to bolster their squad.”
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Sensible
When you remember that Lingard turned us down to head to Forest for a more lucrative deal last summer, it’s easy to understand why some fans aren’t particularly keen to see him come in.
But it’s also easy to forget just how good he was for us in his loan spell, and how hard he pushed to join us the following summer only for Manchester United to block it and keep him on their bench.
Right now our attacking options are strong and we have good depth, but you can never have too little quality in the squad and with reports that he wants to get back on good terms with the fans, this would be a good way to do it.
The behind-closed-doors game will see other members of our squad get vital minutes and sharpness in during the international break and it also gives the club and manager a chance to really take a look at him and see how he will fit in.
If Lingard instead opts for Wolves or Saudi Arabia then that’s his loss and his last chance at making amends, but we’re not in a position where it would be a huge loss anyway.
In other West Ham news, our strongest XI is better now with Declan Rice after £116m of summer spending.
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