$46M Star Who Could 'Compete' With Bruno Fernandes May Not Return To Manchester United

Manchester United’s Jesse Lingard is reportedly expected to stay at West Ham permanently as his transfer fee has been disclosed ahead of the 2021 transfer window.

Lingard moved from Manchester United to West Ham during the January transfer window but his loan deal did not include a buy-out clause. Lingard is being valued at around $34 million by the Red Devils and West Ham are seeing this scenario as a good investment, the soccer website Teamtalk reported.

Earlier former Red Devils midfielder Paul Scholes had said he believes Lingard would return to Old Trafford next season to give "competition" to Bruno Fernandes for the place in the XI.

However, Lingard has realized that continuing at the London Stadium would be best for his career going forward, the Teamtalk report further stated.

It was earlier reported that Lingard is also being chased by other top European clubs such as Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). It is understood that Lingard will snub a possible big move away from England and instead accept West Ham’s permanent offer.

After making only three Cup appearances in the first half of the 2020-21 campaign for Manchester United, Lingard was allowed to leave on loan in January. However, the loan move has revived the player’s career as he has boosted West Ham to fourth place in the league table.

In 10 league games for West Ham since his debut earlier this year, Lingard has netted nine goals and provided four assists. After 32 matches, West Ham are placed in the fourth spot with 55 points, one clear of the fifth-placed Chelsea and two more than defending champions Liverpool FC.

His short spell at West Ham has also brought life back to his national career. He was recently included in the England national squad for all the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier fixtures during the March international break, which was his first appearance for the national side since 2019. Lingard now is also expected to bag a place in England’s squad for the upcoming European Championship.

The arrival of Fernandes has overshadowed Lingard’s game at Old Trafford as both the players play at the same position.

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer recently was quoted by Goal, admitting that Fernandes’ form has played a major role in keeping Lingard out of the team.

While Solskjaer is prepared to welcome Lingard back into the team for the next season, former Manchester United right-back Gary Neville believes the player should stay at West Ham as he does not see the English midfielder playing every week for Solskjaer’s side.

"If Jesse wants to play, which he does want to play, you can see, then he’s going to need to leave. Because he’s not going to play every single week I suspect in a Manchester United team that’s trying to get to second or first in the league," Neville told Sky Sports in an interview.