JESSE LINGARD has gone from doom to BOOM all in the space of just a few days – and he is getting plenty of backing.
After being frozen out by Manchester United, in a bid to rejuvenate his career, the star joined West Ham on loan for the rest of the season earlier this week.
Jesse Lingard scored twice to help West Ham defeat Aston Villa on his debutCredit: PA:Press Association
And he got off to a flyer by scoring two goals on his debut to help fire them to a 3-1 win at Aston Villa on his first Premier League start for over a year.
That led to his Hammers boss David Moyes backing Lingard to force his way into Gareth Southgate’s England plans this summer for Euro 2020.
He said: “If he keeps that form up then it might be Gareth coming knocking again.
“There are a lot of people who are pushing hard to make the England squad for the Euros and why shouldn’t Jesse push if he’s in the form he is in tonight?
“If he keeps playing as well as he did he will do a brilliant job for West Ham and if he keeps going like that then he’ll get back into the England squad. I hope he can get back to that standard.”
His new Hammers team-mate Michail Antonio was overjoyed at the impact of Lingard – although he appeared more impressed by the star’s goal celebrations.
The loanee produced a neat dance move, and Antonio shared a snap of that alongside a panel of Strictly Come Dancing judges scoring him with a ‘10’ mark.
And it was not only his new colleagues who were pleased to see Lingard back on the scoresheet as Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes led the plaudits from United.
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Lingard posted a picture of himself celebrating during the game on Instagram captioned: “Perfect Start 2 Goals 3 Points.”
Rashford wrote ‘Congrats bro’ while playmaker Fernandes responded with a shocked face accompanied with a fire emoji.
Left back Luke Shaw said ‘Love that’ as captain Harry Maguire got in on the act by posting a number of emojis himself.
And fellow United outcast Diogo Dalot, currently on loan at Milan, declared: “He’s back.”
Lingard himself struggled to contain his delight after his match-winning bow as he revealed his joy at just being back on the pitch.
He said: “I was smiling before the game, during the game, I just love football and enjoy playing.
“It’s been a long time. I enjoyed myself, and came out with two goals and three points, which was the most important thing.
“The team has been great with me and I’ve settled in quickly. In training we’ve had that connection as well and I feel like I’ve bedded in quickly, so come the matchday it’s easy to play with Michail.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
