West Ham will be forced to pay a fee if they want to land Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard after the England had a one-year extension triggered on his deal at Old Trafford.
With his contract due to expire in the summer, there was a belief the 24 times capped attacking midfielder could be available either on the cheap in January or for free in the summer.
However, since triggering a clause in his deal for a further year, United can now demand a premium fee once again for their man who has a market value of £9m according to Transfermarkt.
David Moyes was believed to be interested in reuniting with Lingard at the London Stadium after the 28-year-old fell dramatically out of favour at his current employers.
As January approached speculation over the Hammers reigniting their interest was rife, with a loan move still potentially on the table despite his altered contract situation.
Having once been the man for the big occasion, Lingard has played just 99 minutes of competitive football this season – all of which came in the Carabao Cup.
Whilst the Hammers interest has cooled since the arrival of Said Benrahma, the possibility of landing Lingard on a free transfer in the summer would have intrigued Moyes no end.
READ WEST HAM VERDICT
Despite the usual caveats with Lingard regarding his lack of match action and indeed impact in the last 24 months – at just 28 and with proven Premier League quality within his remit, a low-cost deal would have been well worth considering.
However, with United taking the possibility of an end of contract swoop off the table, the sense in paying any sort of transfer fee for a player with zero top-flight appearances this season despite being fit and available is not a risk worth taking, especially with current Irons in similar positions performing admirably.
