Rebirth | Jesse Lingard
Since February 3rd, no player has been involved in more Premier League goals than Jesse Lingard.
9 GAMES. 8 GOALS. 3 ASSISTS.
Jesse Lingard joined West Ham on loan on the 29th of January and he is having a great time on the pitch right now. He brings energy as he always does, looking re-assured as West Ham are moving towards the Champions League confidently.
After making his debut against Aston Villa and scoring 2 goals against the clean sheet machine Emiliano Martinez, he gave us a signal of a sensational return.
Prior to his move to West Ham, Jesse Lingard has only appeared in 3 games this season (2 League Cup games and 1 FA cup game) and there he was, as if he never left the pitch, playing full 90 minutes comfortably and showing a solo brilliance.
Shortly after that, the Hammers faced Spurs for the top 4 spot and he had an excellent game along his goal as he helped to move The Hammers into the top 4 spot. That was a cherry on a cake. He played confidently with Tomas Soucek and his long-time good friend Declan Rice in the midfield area. He also created numerous chances for M.Antonio upfront.
Jesse Lingard to Messi Lingard?
At this moment he is playing in his preferred position which is no.10 in David Moyes’ 4–3–2–1 formation. Even though he few times played as a deeper winger or left midfielder under Jose Mourinho, Lingard reads and plays the game much more efficiently in the attacking midfield area. He performs as a pivot, receives the low balls with his back against the opponent’s defence and makes a quick distribution. He has always been good at it. He has also been very reliable to drop off and perform lay-off passing in order to relieve the pressure.
Lingard may not be a pass master midfielder or a presser but one thing is certain: he has an incredible vision on and off the ball and he works tirelessly as he covers so much distance. (12.7 km against Wolves, 1st of his team.)
“I am picking up good positions. It’s due to confidence, instinct, knowing players and where the right and left-back are going to put it.” said Lingard after their win over Leicester City last week.
He did not only shine in the Premier League. In the meantime, his spectacular form also helped him being called up to the England National Team after 18 months. If Lingard takes his place in Gareth Southgate’s final 23, we could see a repeat performance of his impressive display back in the 2018 World Cup.
We can all agree that he made a wise choice by joining West Ham at the age of 28, usually considered as the prime age. However, Lingard says that he feels like 25 and he doesn’t feel like he is at his peak yet.
Either way, he sure looks ready for the big task, Euro 2020. (Well, 2021)
But before that, he has an unfinished business. Top 4 spot.
“We take each game as it comes, step-by-step for top four. It would be a brilliant achievement to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in West Ham’s history.”
West Ham are currently in 4th place in the Premier League before gameweek 32 and with only seven games remaining. One thing is certain, we will be watching seven challenging games especially the one against Chelsea in gameweek 33. Chelsea are one point behind the Hammers and Lingard and his teammates are going to have a little bit of a tough time without two key players Declan Rice and Michail Antonio.
Lingard’s current form already making the headlines about his possible return to Man Utd at the end of the season while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer already said that Man Utd would welcome back Lingard. We don't know what will be the outcome but former United legend Paul Scholes believes that Jesse Lingard can go back and definitely compete with Bruno Fernandes.
“I know the quality Jesse has. I worked with Jesse as an 18/19-year-old as a coach so I know the quality he possesses.”
No matter what he decides, he surely made us realize that we missed seeing him on the pitch and it seems like he has no intention to slow down.
Ogulcan Bozdemir
