David Moyes has revealed that he is relaxed over Jesse Lingard’s decision to train with Al-Ettifaq, rather than join West Ham United this summer.
The former England international had been training with Moyes’ side in a bid to return to match fitness and potentially earn an incentivised deal at the London Stadium [Simon Jones, 4 September] and Lingard was even spotted in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Ipswich Town [Joe Davis, 7 September].
But having yet to be rewarded with a contract with the Hammers, the former Manchester United man has now joined Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia, for an initial four months of training. Still, Moyes doesn’t appear too disappointed to have missed out on Lingard.
As quoted by The Athletic’s Roshane Thomas [24 September] he said: “No disappointment at all (that Lingard is training with Al-Ettifaq). I’m quite comfortable and more than relaxed with it.
“We like Jesse a lot but I just don’t know if we need another player in his position.”
It feels as though the Irons have handled this entire decision incredibly sensibly throughout the entirety of the summer as they have failed to make the same sort of costly mistake that Nottingham Forest did last season and sign an uninterested Lingard.
If the 30-year-old had arrived at the London Stadium and produced the same sort of form that he managed during his first spell with West Ham, then you would question whether or not Moyes and his team were making the right decision by letting him join Al-Ettifaq.
But when he’s failed to earn a contract despite training with the club for over a month, it would suggest he’s unlikely to be a world beater when he finally does become fit and there has been little in the last few years to suggest Lingard is even capable of matching his previous standards.
Moyes is right that the Hammers have plenty of depth in the attacking midfield positions as well, with Mohammed Kudus currently restricted to cameos from the bench in the Premier League, despite arriving for a reasonable fee from Ajax this summer.
With Pablo Fornals also waiting in the wings currently, it seems unwise to take a gamble on Lingard finding his magic once again, especially if the West Ham boss isn’t convinced after working with him for a month.
