West Ham plot second free signing after former Man Utd dynamo, as quadruple failure prompts change of plan
Jesse Lingard will not be re-signing for West Ham
West Ham United are in the market for two new players still despite the transfer window closing, according to a report.
Clubs can still register free agents outside of the transfer window, which is what West Ham now intend to do in order to fill some of the gaps that remain in their squad. Per Football Insider, two deals are possible in that regard.
The report reminds that Jesse Lingard is potentially in line to get a contract offer from the club after training with them recently. He was released by Nottingham Forest at the end of last season, so could embark on a second spell with West Ham.
West Ham previously took Lingard on loan from Manchester United for six months in 2021 and his dynamic form earned him an England recall. However, he has struggled to recapture that form since.
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Now 30 years old, perhaps he could get his career back on track where he most recently enjoyed a productive spell of form.
Interestingly, West Ham might be looking to add a second free agent on top of Lingard. According to the report, they are still searching for a striker to add to their squad.
Four strikers slipped from West Ham’s grasp
Towards the end of the transfer window, they failed with attempts to sign four players. There was no luck in their pursuit of Yuri Alberto from Corinthians, despite a trip to Brazil by Tim Steidten.
The report also reminds that they saw an offer for Dominic Solanke rejected by Bournemouth and came away from talks with the respective clubs of Hugo Ekitike and Youssef En-Nesyri without any forms of agreements.
Ekitike has remained at Paris Saint-Germain and En-Nesyri is still at Sevilla, which means the onus is still on Michail Antonio (and Danny Ings) to lead the line for West Ham after the sale of Gianluca Scamacca to Atalanta earlier this year.
The identities of any free-agent strikers that West Ham might be considering have not been revealed in the report.
Last month, they bought Edson Alvarez and James Ward-Prowse to strengthen in midfield, as well as the attack-minded Mohammed Kudus, and Konstantinos Mavropanos at the back.
