West Ham United are interested in Sao Paulo’s £13m-rated midfielder Igor Gomes as an alternative to Jesse Lingard, according to reports.
Lingard joined West Ham on loan last January after he had fallen down the pecking order at Manchester United.
The Englishman did not play a single game for his boyhood club in the Premier League last season. The performances of Bruno Fernandes limited Lingard’s opportunities at Old Trafford.
An alternative transfer target for each of the Big Six
Lingard returned to form for West Ham during the second half of the 2020/21 season. He grabbed nine goals and four assists from just 16 outings in the top flight.
West Ham hoped to make the deal for Lingard permanent this summer. But it was reported earlier this week that they only have a “10 per cent chance” of signing him.
French outlet Homme du Match (as cited by The Sun) are reporting that the Hammers are now looking at Sao Paulo midfielder Gomes.
He has featured 84 times for the Brazillian outfit since 2018 and he has played seven times for Brazil’s U23 side. The report adds that he is valued at around £13m.
Last month, former Aston Villa forward Gabriel Agbonlahor suggested that Lingard will “want to leave” Manchester United this summer.
He believes that the midfielder would struggle to get into Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s starting XI at Old Trafford:
“Things can change. The transfer window closes in September and there are a few games before then to play in the Premier League.
“If Lingard doesn’t get the starting time he wants then he might decide he wants to leave in the last week of the window because he might not get in in front of [Paul] Pogba, Fred and [Bruno] Fernandes. Then you’ve got [Marcus] Rashford, [Mason] Greenwood and [Jadon] Sancho further forward.
“Lingard might think ‘I’m happy the manager wants me in his plans but my plans don’t want to be sitting on the bench.’ He was so close to going to the Euros so he’ll want to go to a club that gives him the best chance of going to the World Cup.
“I still think Lingard will want to leave. I just don’t see him getting a starting place in that Manchester United midfield.”