Jesse Lingard has been linked with a return to West Ham almost daily since his loan spell at the Hammers came to an end last summer.
The Manchester United player had a superb spell at the London Stadium and the Hammes have never hidden their desire to bring him back to the club. Over the summer, Lingard received assurances from then-Red Devils boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer that he was an important part of the Norwegian's plans and as a result opted to remain with his boyhood club.
As it turns out, Lingard has once again been a peripheral figure at Old Trafford under both Solskjaer and his replacement Ralf Rangnick. The England international has played just 272 minutes of football, only 88 of which have come in the Premier League and he has not started a league game all season. As a result, Lingard has been dropped by Gareth Southgate from the Three Lions squad and appears to be back in the same place he found himself 12 months ago, an unused and unwanted man in Manchester.
