Gabriel Agbonlahor has urged Manchester United ace Jesse Lingard to snub other clubs in favour of joining West Ham United in the January window.
One of the major problems Ole Gunnar Solskjaer faced this season was his failure to use some of the fringe stars in his Manchester United squad. The Norwegian tended to pick his regular starters for most games in all competitions, leaving the likes of Jesse Lingard, Donny van de Beek and even Jadon Sancho to scrap for a few minutes towards the final stages of the matches.
However, with the Norwegian now gone, things are expected to change for those players. The latter two, in fact, were handed starts against Villarreal in the midweek Champions League win. One player that remains frustrated on toe sidelines is Lingard, who is tipped to force a move away from Manchester United in January.
Lingard had the opportunity to join West Ham in the summer, but he chose to remain at Old Trafford and fight for his place. However, the availability of multiple options in his position never allowed the England international a chance. He risks a place in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the World Cup without regular playing time.
Stories are circulating about a possible £10 million move for Lingard to the Hammers in the winter window. However, other sides are vying for his signature as well. Newcastle aim to beat the competition and sign the Manchester United attacker to boost their relegation battle in the coming months.
Former Aston Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor urged Lingard to ignore other suitors and move to David Moyes’ team. Speaking to Football Insider, the former Premier League star said a move to the Hammers will benefit the player and the club immensely while adding that his chances of winning a place in England’s World Cup squad next year would also increase.
Agbonlahor said, “It has to happen. I was so surprised that he didn’t go in the summer. It didn’t make sense to stay at Manchester United. He was never going to play; he was never going to get game time with Bruno Fernandes, Paul Pogba, Fred and Scott McTominay, all favourites ahead of him.
“He needs to play football. With the World Cup coming up, he really needs to play football. It just makes sense, it’s a club that he likes and where he enjoyed his football. It just makes sense for both parties.”
