The Hammers defender is eager to see top talent retained at the London Stadium, with value found in home-grown and on-loan stars
West Ham defender Aaron Cresswell has added his voice to those singing the praises of Jesse Lingard, with the on-loan Manchester United midfielder considered to be proving that “class is permanent” during his time in east London.
David Moyes raided the ranks of his former employers at Old Trafford during the winter transfer window to snap up a playmaker that had endured a humbling fall from grace for club and country.
A productive spell with the Hammers has, however, seen Lingard rediscover a spark in style, with a five-goal return seeing him earn an England recall and generate talk of a permanent move being made in the summer.
What has been said?
Cresswell would appear to be in favour of the 28-year-old remaining at the London Stadium, with the West Ham left-back telling Sky Sports of Lingard: “Jesse has been fantastic.
“You just need to look in the short space of time he’s been here, his stats speak for that – his goals and assists in such a short time.
“I knew Jesse was a very good player, I played with him at England a few years back. He just hasn’t had the luck the last few years at Man United and didn’t really get any game time. As they say: class is permanent.
“He’s certainly come back and looks in fantastic shape and he’s back in the England squad. He’s been a fantastic addition to our squad.”
Who else are West Ham looking to keep?
The Hammers have been keeping their options open when it comes to discussing another agreement with Manchester United for Lingard.
Incomings are to be expected, though, at a club that has forced its way into contention for European qualification this season.
Exits may also be on the cards, but every effort will be made to ensure that prized assets remain at Moyes’ disposal – with Declan Rice another England international that the capital outfit are eager to retain amid talk of interest from the likes of United and Chelsea.
Cresswell added on a man who has taken the captain’s armband this season as Mark Noble fills a back-up role: “Declan is certainly one of our better players and the best players we want to keep at the club and build squads around.
“But you look at the recruitment over the last 18 months, you could arguably say there have been some fantastic players come in: Vlad, Tomas, Jarrod Bowen for example – in recent times – who have done really well and played nearly all the games.
“We certainly want to keep our best players and build squads around them.”
The bigger picture
On-field success will help to convince the likes of Lingard and Rice that they are in the best place at this stage of their respective careers.
Moyes has been overseeing promising progress, with West Ham set to be presented with an opportunity to climb into the Premier League’s top four when they take in a trip to Wolves on Monday.
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