Nottingham Forest have made the shock signing of Jesse Lingard after stealing West Ham’s move for the former Manchester United midfielder.
Forest, keen to demonstrate their ambition after winning promotion to the Premier League, have agreed an initial one-year deal with Lingard worth close to £200,000-a-week. The 29-year-old, who is a free agent after leaving United last month, underwent a medical on Wednesday night and became the Midlands club’s ninth signing of the summer.
Forest are also understood to have entered the race to sign Burnley’s Maxwell Cornet. Everton’s loan bid for the Ivorian striker was rejected last week.
West Ham were cautiously optimistic they would be reunited with Lingard, who excelled during a loan spell with David Moyes’ side two seasons ago. They were reluctant to meet the England international’s request for a deal worth £180,000, but believed an offer of around £150,000-a-week would persuade him to return to east London.
It was a huge shock when it became clear that Forest were prepared to upend their wage structure for Lingard. West Ham were ready to make it the top earner, despite fears it would cause discontent in the dressing room. They even hoped Lingard would change his mind late on.
Moyes must now deal with the disappointment of missing out on one of his key targets. The West Ham manager believes Lingard, who can play in several positions in attacking midfield, would improve his side’s output in the final third. Moyes, who turned down the chance to sign Villarreal winger Arnaut Danjuma last month, has been the driving force behind Lingard’s pursuit this summer.
West Ham must move on quickly after Lingard, who is hoping his regularity will earn him an England recall ahead of the World Cup, settled on Forest.
Huddersfield Town are ready to sign Tino Anjorin from Chelsea. The 20-year-old striker was on loan at Huddersfield last season and has agreed to rejoin the Championship club.
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