West Ham blow in pursuit of Man Utd creator

 

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insists Jesse Lingard is part of his plans at Manchester United next season in a blow to West Ham.

 

Lingard spent the second half of last season on loan at West Ham after dropping completley out of the first-team picture at United under Solskjaer.

 

West Ham are keen to sign Lingard on a permanent deal this summer but are unable to match United's £30m valuation after missing out on Champions League qualification.

 

Lingard has since returned to pre-season with parent club United and hit the crossbar in their 2-1 friendly win over Derby on Sunday.

 

The England international has entered the final 12 months of his current United contract but Solskjaer is not planning on his departure this summer.

 

"He was one of the positives," Sky Sports quote Solskjaer as saying after the win over Derby. "He's a Manchester United player and he wants to fight for his place.

 

"He's come back bright, confident and with lots of energy. I think everyone saw what he did at the end of last season with West Ham. He's still in my plans. I expect him at Man Utd at the start of the season."

 

 

Lingard played a direct hand in 13 goals in 16 Premier League appearances for West Ham last season and narrowly missed out on a place in Gareth Southgate's England squad for Euro 2020.

 

In fact, only Harry Kane (18) and Kelechi Iheanacho (14) have played a direct hand in more Premier League goals than the 28-year-old this calendar year.