Premier League: Leicester To Battle West Ham In Race To Sign Manchester United’s Winger

West Ham are reportedly not the only club that want to sign Jesse Lingard permanently from Manchester United at the summer transfer window.

Lingard, who is currently contracted with Manchester United until 2022, is on loan at West Ham. While the London Stadium side is believed to be looking to sign Lingard permanently, former Premier League champions Leicester City are also keeping an eye on Lingard’s situation, Eurosport reported.

Before the end of the 2020-21 season, Lingard will either sign an extension with the Red Devils or will bid goodbye to the club he has been associated with since 2000. After graduating from Manchester United’s academy, the Englishman was sent on loans to Leicester City, Birmingham City, and Brighton before he became a regular member of the Red Devils’ senior squad from the 2015-16 campaign.

The 2017-18 season, where Lingard netted 13 goals in 48 competitive matches, has been his best at Old Trafford to date.

After failing to feature in all the Premier League fixtures in the first half of the underway season, Lingard had requested Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the club to allow him to leave on loan at the January transfer window. Although Solskjaer was keen to keep Lingard in his squad, he let the player leave as he was desperate for more regular first-team play.

When West Ham signed Lingard on loan in January, the deal did not include an option to buy. Lingard, 28, has been an instant hit at West Ham, scoring three goals and providing an assist in as many as four appearances since his arrival from Old Trafford earlier this season.

If Juan Mata leaves Manchester United at the end of the 2020-21 campaign, it could make space for Lingard in the squad, according to Teamtalk. However, if the attacking midfielder himself wants to leave in the hunt for more first-team play, at least two Premier League rivals certainly want him.

Lingard will become a free agent in the summer of 2022 and Manchester United may have to sell him at the upcoming summer market in order to earn a transfer fee.

After 25 matches into the 2020-21 Premier League season, Leicester City and West Ham are placed third and fourth on the table, with 49 and 45 points respectively. Meanwhile, Manchester United are in second place, 10 points behind leaders Manchester City.