Arsene Wenger is reportedly targeting a move for Jesse Lingard with an offer of doubling the player’s current wage at Manchester United
The Sun are claiming that Arsenal are set to counter Manchester United’s interest in Mesut Ozil by targeting their academy graduate Jesse Lingard. Arsene Wenger is aiming to target the England international in order to in a direct response to the rumours of Manchester United targeting Mesut Ozil.
Jesse Lingard is a 23-year-old product of Manchester United’s famed youth academy and has successfully managed to break into and establish himself into the first-team setup at the club under the new boss, Jose Mourinho as well.
The player has been reported to be in talks with the club representatives to extend his contract at Old Trafford, but negotiations have hit a roadblock with differences in terms being offered and demanded.
Lingard and his representatives are holding out for more than the £60,000 per-week wage being offered and Arsene Wenger is looking to offer the England international double of United’s offer, i.e. £120,000 per-week in order to entice him into leaving his boyhood club for their rivals Arsenal.
Mesut Ozil is set to enter the last 18 months of his current contract at Arsenal and the Gunners are reportedly unwilling to match the demands of the German international. Manchester United’s interest in the German is certain to anger Arsenal and Arsene, but the Gunners’ wage structure can not simply match the reported offer of £300,000 per-week that the Red Devils are prepared to pay the playmaker.
However, Wenger can easily offer a six-figure pay package to Jesse Lingard, who can serve as a long-term addition to the Arsenal squad and would also beef up the English core of the roster.
The only argument to be made here is the fact that Manchester United is Lingard’s boyhood club and the academy product may not be willing to leave the club and anger the faithful by joining a rival in Arsenal. Also, United are unlikely to let an academy product leave after seeing how it all panned out with Paul Pogba.
The aforementioned may be the decisive factor that may result in Lingard rejecting Arsenal and Manchester United, too, would rather offer the 23-year-old an improved pay package in order to keep the hard-working attacker at the club.
