Rejuvenated Lingard has West Ham dreaming of the Champions League
David Moyes' lengthy wait for a first win over Jose Mourinho came to a head at the 16th time of asking on Sunday afternoon as West Ham earned a 2-1 win at Tottenham's expense in the lunchtime kick off. The Hammers rode their luck in the victory - Gareth Bale cannoned an effort off the crossbar with 10 minutes to play, while a Vladimir Coufal clearance struck Son Heung-Min, looped over Lukasz Fabianski and hit the outside of the post - but West Ham won't have minded after landing yet another three points.
Further talk over Mourinho's future at Spurs was the subject of interest in the wake of the London Derby with the loss at West Ham the north London side's sixth in their last eight to leave them nine points off the Champions League spots, but for West Ham, victory saw them consolidate fourth as they capitalised upon Chelsea's draw with Southampton 24 hours earlier.
The plaudits have been raining on Moyes in recent months and deservedly so. After 24 league matches last season, West Ham were in the bottom three with 24 points to their name. Now, with 24 matches played, they sit in the top four on 45 points. Few gave West Ham a chance of staying up let alone making a play for Europe before the 2020/21 campaign kicked off.
A lack of action in the market suggested Moyes didn't have the backing of the board and increased speculation he wouldn't see out the season as West Ham boss. A couple of additions were eventually made - Coufal arrived from Slavia Prague and Said Benrahma joined from Brentford on domestic deadline day - however it is a January signing that is winning praise from all quarters within the game.
When West Ham sold Sebastien Haller to Ajax last month, the expectation was that a striker would arrive to ease the Ivorian's exit, yet as January came and went, the only new capture was that of Jesse Lingard on loan. The Hammers had to make Benrahma's loan move permanent in order to complete the deal, yet it looks like money well spent given Lingard's immediate success at the London Stadium.
Lingard netted what proved to be the winner in West Ham's 2-1 win over Spurs on Sunday, his third league goal in four league outings in the claret and blue. For context, he scored just the once in the Premier League for Manchester United between the start of 2019 and his move to West Ham. It wasn't that Lingard became a bad player, rather he didn't fit Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's system, in part due to competition from a certain Bruno Fernandes, and the dent to his morale translated to a number of sub-par displays from the 28-year-old.
Moyes, though, pinpointed an area in his side that needed strengthening and pushed hard for Lingard and, in rebuilding his confidence in the capital, the Hammers boss has been rewarded with a series of stand out displays from Lingard. A WhoScored rating of 7.32 in West Ham's 2-1 win over Spurs was his third lowest in a Premier League shirt this season, but on the whole, an average rating of 7.60 is the best of all West Ham players, albeit in an admittedly small sample size.
Nevertheless, Lingard has chipped in with important goals already, easing the burden on the likes of Tomas Soucek, Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen. The former is the club's top scorer with eight league goals to his name, whereas the latter pair have six and five goals to their name, respectively. Yet Antonio's chequered injury history means an additional attacking threat was key last month.
Benrahma may have shown glimpses of his quality, yet Lingard's Premier League experience has seen him put in a series of assured displays that has kept West Ham in the hunt for a top four finish. The morale boost from a manager who evidently trusts the England international means the fearlessness to Lingard's game that had been found wanting in recent seasons has returned with his average of 1.8 successful dribbles per 90 the fourth best of all West Ham players.
In ghosting past opponents, this has contributed towards his fine Premier League rating and inspired whispers of a possible England return next month. Only Raheem Sterling (7.71) and Phil Foden (7.69) have earned better WhoSored ratings than Lingard of English Premier League players in 2021 and if he continues in the same vain between now and the next squad selection, then it would be hard to overlook the on-loan midfielder.
The focus for Lingard, though, is maintaining his excellent start in a West Ham shirt as the Hammers continue their push for a European finish. That said, it's impossible to put a dampener on his fine outings for the east London outfit and as his confidence continues to grow, supporters will bear witness to a Lingard approaching his very best once more.
