DAVID MOYES says he will give Jesse Lingard “every opportunity” to get fit and earn a contract at West Ham.
The former Manchester United star is currently a free agent after his contract with Nottingham Forest expired at the end of last season.
The 30-year-old has been training with The Hammers and is said to have impressed during his time with the club so far.
Lingard spent time on loan at the London Stadium during the 2020-21 campaign – scoring nine goals in 16 appearances.
The midfielder returned to parent club Manchester United that summer before joining Nottingham Forest in 2022 – despite interest from West Ham.
But last season’s exploits with Forest didn’t see the former England International reach the heights of his West Ham loan spell.
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Lingard struggled to stay fit and when he did he was rarely picked by Tricky Trees boss Steve Cooper.
He featured just 17 times in the league all season and failed to put up any numbers when it came to goals and assists.
Speaking on TalkSPORT, West Ham boss Moyes hinted at the prospect of Lingard earning a contract.
He said: “Jesse has trained with us for three weeks and he’s improved greatly from when he first came in.
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“He’s in really good condition – much better condition than he was when he first came in.”
Lingard’s short spell for the Irons assisted the East London side to finish sixth making the cut for the Europa League.
Moyes continued: “I have to say, when Jesse joined us two years ago I think he scored nine goals in 15 games and was probably the difference between us getting into Europe for the first time.
“I want to give him every opportunity to get himself back in condition and see how he does.
“So there’s no real update on it at the moment, just to say that he’s back and getting much closer to the levels of fitness where you’d hope he would be.”
The Scotsman will be hoping that a spell in East London can help Lingard return to his imperious form of 2021.
The Europa Conference champs are unbeaten in four Premier League games this season with their next game against last season’s treble winners Man City this Saturday.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
