JESSE LINGARD has been warned off making a move to Arsenal by former Manchester United star Rio Ferdinand.
But Ferdinand doesn’t believe the 28-year-old would ‘go anywhere near’ anyway.
Lingard is in sparkling form since joining West Ham on loan from United.
That has thrust him back into the England fold and he is believed to be close to nailing a place in Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2020 squad.
Unsurprisingly, Lingard is now the subject of some intense transfer rumour, the latest being Arsenal as SunSport exclusively revealed, should his future be away from Old Trafford.
Arsenal are set for a summer rebuild after a miserable 2020/21 campaign – but Ferdinand doesn’t anticipate that will involve adding Lingard to the squad.
Asked about the Gunners’ reported interest in Lingard, Ferdinand told FIVE YouTube channel: “Yeah but you know what they [Arsenal fans] wouldn’t have him there.
“The way he moonwalked off that pitch once, they wouldn’t have it. The fans would rip the place apart. He disrespected the Emirates in a way that hadn’t been seen.
“Listen West Ham will have a fight to get him by the way because I think other teams are going to be like: ‘Listen, we want him!’
“He’s not going to go to Arsenal over West Ham, obviously but there will be other teams. He ain’t going nowhere near Arsenal.”
Lingard celebrated scoring in a 3-1 FA cup win at the Emirates by performing the dance move made famous by Michael Jackson.
David Moyes would love to make Lingard’s London move permanent after proving to be a smash hit during his short-term stay.
He’s scored an incredible eight goals in nine Premier league appearances.
But the Hammers will tell Manchester United to rubbish plans to offer him as makeweight for Declan Rice.
And that has opened the door for the Gunners to swoop, leading Emirates bosses to make tentative inquiries about him.
Arsenal actually asked about a potential loan deal of their own before Christmas.
But United didn’t want to ‘lend’ him to a club they expected to be a serious top four rival.
Lingard has just 12 months left on his current contract, and ideally United would like him to sign another – if only to ensure they get top dollar should they sell.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
