West Ham contemplate offering Jesse Lingard short-term deal

West Ham United and Jesse Lingard could reportedly revitalise their association following a break-up a year ago.

According to the Daily Mail, the Hammers are willing to offer the 30-year-old attacking midfielder a short-term contract.

Lingard has impressed the West Ham staff on the training ground after being allowed to train at Rush Green.

He has been a free agent since the end of last season, as Nottingham Forest released him after just one year.

Lingard enjoyed a stellar short-term loan in London in the second half of the 2020/21 season, tallying nine goals and five assists in only 16 appearances.

West Ham offered the Englishman a lifeline in the Premier League amid his perennial struggle at Manchester United, with the player repaying that trust with a string of dazzling performances.

Impressed by Lingard’s improvement, the Irons approached the player’s camp with a tangible proposal, keen to tie him down to a permanent contract last summer.

However, the versatile forward rebuffed United’s bid to join Forest after being handed a significant contract package worth around £200,000 per week at the City Ground.

That proved a terrible choice, as he endured a dreadful stint at the Tricky Trees, making just three Premier League outings since January, two of which came off the bench.

Lingard’s underwhelming performances saw Forest decide against renewing his contract at the end of last season.

A lack of concrete interest in the summer turned Lingard into a forgotten figure before David Moyes allowed him to train with West Ham.

However, the experienced manager still has reservations about giving Lingard another chance after the player fell out of favour with the West Ham faithful.

It would be practical to reincorporate him in the squad after missing out on the signature of Paris Saint-Germain’s Hugo Ekitike towards the end of the summer transfer window.

Moyes could use an additional option in attack, but he also needs to take fans’ stance into account.