West Ham United
Premier League • England
West Ham table Lingard offer, as Moyes wraps up £11m transfer and preps Chelsea bid as part of five-deal blitz
West Ham have offered Jesse Lingard a way back to London, while an £11m transfer has been agreed with David Moyes looking to complete a five-deal blitz, per reports.
Lingard, 29, will officially leave Manchester United as a free agent on July 1. The versatile forward never truly made his mark at Old Trafford, at least not in the manner he did when on loan with the Hammers.
Indeed, Lingard enjoyed the best spell of his career while with West Ham on a six-month loan in 2021. The attacker bagged nine goals and five assists from just 16 appearances.
That purple patch led to interest from both West Ham and Newcastle when the loan concluded. Man Utd stood firm, though that decision has proven an unwise one with Lingard now leaving for free after making minimal impact in his final season in Manchester.
Sky Sports report West Ham have now tabled an offer to Lingard’s camp. The financial details of the proposal aren’t stated, though it will no doubt be given serious consideration.
Elsewhere, Sky detail three other deals West Ham are working on that would bring their summer tally to five following Nayef Aguerd’s £30m arrival.
The first regards Alphonse Areola who it’s reported will join West Ham in the next 24 hours.
The French goalkeeper impressed while on loan last season and an £11m option to buy will now be triggered.
The 29-year-old has agreed personal terms with the club and will put pen to paper on a five-year deal. Fabrizio Romano reaffirmed the imminent switch, tweeting it’s ‘fully agreed’ and ‘confirmed’.
Moyes eyes attacking reinforcements
The final two moves on the agenda relate to the forward line, beginning with a proposed bid for Chelsea’s Armando Broja.
West Ham are deemed ‘set to bid’ around £30m for the talented 20-year-old who shone on loan at Southampton last season.
Whether Broja’s exit will be sanctioned is yet to be determined by the Blues. Sky add the decision will be made by new owner Todd Boehly.
Regardless, Broja is deemed West Ham’s ‘top striker target’, though they’ll face competition from Southampton and Newcastle if Chelsea give the greenlight.
The final name on West Ham’s radar is Hull forward, Keane Lewis-Potter. The latest on that front can be found here.
West Ham hitting the right notes
The Sky report noted West Ham are particularly pleased with their Areola coup. 29 is still young for a goalkeeper and Areola has proven he is a high calibre operator.
While he rarely featured in the league last year, he was Fulham’s stand-out player while on loan at Craven Cottage in 2020/21. West Ham can rest assured he’ll be up to the task when he is given the nod in the league.
The Frenchman will ensure the Hammers do not dip in quality when Lukasz Fabianski moves on. At 37 and entering the final year of his deal, the Pole’s time will soon be up.
Aguerd resolves the issues at centre-back with West Ham struggling with injury in that department last year. If Broja arrives, the club will finally have suitable competition for Michail Antonio too.
While the veteran forward managed to avert his customary hamstring issues last season, he is not getting any younger and is already 32.
With West Ham hoping to become a regular fixture in Europe, Moyes can no longer run the risk of having just one recognised centre-forward on the books.