West Ham fans may feel a sense of intrigue after news emerged from manager David Moyes himself that his one-time predecessor Sir Alex Ferguson is keeping tabs on Manchester United loanee Jesse Lingard.
The 28-year-old made the loan switch to the London Stadium two weeks ago, having made his breakthrough under then-Red Devils manager Moyes during a 2013 pre-season tour of Australia.
Legendary manager Ferguson won two Champions Leagues among a 49-trophy haul at Old Trafford and was hailed as ‘brilliant’ by former Man United midfielder Roy Keane; and he now seems to be taking a strong interest in the progress of his former youth prospect.
Moyes believes that Lingard can add a Ferguson-esque winning mentality to the West Ham dressing room, rejuvenating and lifting the entire squad in the process with his Old Trafford experiences.
Eligible to return to the squad after being cup-tied against his parent club last week, he could return to the Irons XI to face Sheffield United tonight.
Asked about Lingard bringing a winning mentality to the squad, Moyes said [via Sky Sports]:
I refer back to my time at Everton when I brought Phil Neville in and I brought Tim Howard in. Phil Neville was great for his mentality and what he brought, it really gave us another edge. Him as a player as well gave us something else. I’m hoping Jesse does the same.
He’s only here in the short term but already I’ve spoken with Sir Alex, who asked me to pass on his best to Jesse; he mentioned he was thinking about him because Sir Alex had him as a boy at Old Trafford.
That just shows you the interest Sir Alex has in all the young players he had, all his teams and all his clubs he shows a great interest in them and he was pleased Jesse got off to a good start.
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The resurgent Lingard is a long way off from his days as a young prospect, but he has already had an impact for the Hammers, scoring twice on his debut against Aston Villa recently after previously netting just four times since the summer of 2019.
Should that resurgence continue, Ferguson is likely to be very impressed by what he will see from the 28-year-old at West Ham.
