£65m hit sees West Ham fail to meet Man Utd loanee’s ‘demands’

Jesse Lingard faces a return to Man Utd in the summer transfer window with West Ham struggling to afford his wage demands, according to reports.

The England international has been brilliant for the Hammers since moving from Old Trafford on loan until the end of the season.

Since arriving in January, Lingard has bagged nine goals and created three assists in 13 Premier League matches, which has seen West Ham express an interest in making the move permanent.

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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said in mid-April that he wanted to bring Lingard back to Man Utd once the season was over but there have been rumours that they would accept a fee of around £30m.

And now the Daily Mail claims that Lingard ‘could start next season back at’ Man Utd as West Ham ‘doubt they can find the funds to sign him on a permanent deal’.

The newspaper describe the Hammers as ‘decimated by the pandemic’ after recording losses of £65m last season.

That means they are ‘unable to commit to the player’s demands for a four-year contract worth in excess of £100,000-a-week’ despite David Moyes being ‘eager to sign him permanently’.

The only hope for West Ham is that ‘most clubs are in a similar financial predicament’ and that they can persuade Man Utd and Lingard to reduce their demands.

Meanwhile, Said Benrahma is still waiting to break his West Ham scoring duck but Lingard has insisted that his elusive first goal will come.

The Algerian winger, signed for £30m from Championship side Brentford last year, has now had a Premier League-high 33 attempts at goal this season without finding the net once.

“I don’t think he’s putting pressure on himself,” Lingard told West Ham’s website.

“He’s arriving in the right areas to score and it’s just about executing it, that’s all.

“For us as a team we’re together and trying to help each other to score and get into the right positions.

“Football is like that. It’s about how we deal with it during the game and how we adapt. I felt we adapted fairly well and dominated the game against Everton, but we just couldn’t create clear-cut chances and finish them.”