Arsenal plan Jesse Lingard transfer hijack with Man Utd set to alter price tag

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Arsenal are planning to hijack West Ham’s move for Manchester United star Jesse Lingard, according to reports. The England international has been in fine form at the London Stadium following his arrival in January. And, now, a summer bidding war is set to break out.

Arsenal are keen to sign a new playmaker this summer, regardless of what happens with Martin Odegaard’s long-term future.

And Lingard is in their sights, with the England international currently flourishing on loan at West Ham.

Many wrote the Manchester United star off earlier in the campaign but, impressively, he’s scored six goals and registered two assists so far.

And the Daily Star claim Arsenal are keen to land Lingard when the transfer window reopens at the end of the season.

It’s said the Gunners are planning to ‘hijack’ West Ham when it comes to landing the 28-year-old, who is in the form of his life.

They were reportedly in the mix to sign Lingard on loan in January but, in the end, United opted to loan him to West Ham instead.

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Ironically, Lingard has helped propel West Ham towards the Champions League – and they’re actually closer to the Red Devils in the Premier League table as a result.

The problem for Arsenal, however, will be the playmaker’s price tag.

United were initially willing to listen to offers for Lingard in the region of £10million, extending his contract to protect the player’s value.

Yet the report suggests Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side could now treble the midfielder’s fee in order to prevent their rivals from signing him on the cheap.

West Ham, for their part, would like to sign Lingard permanently.

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But with competition for the 28-year-old likely to be fierce, whether they get their wish is something only time will tell.

Meanwhile, Lingard is expected to feature when West Ham go up against Leicester City in their Premier League showdown on Sunday.

And, speaking ahead of that game, the United loan star urged his side to maintain their fine form when they step out into the pitch at the London Stadium.

“We’re brilliant, we’re moving the right direction and the team is full of confidence and all of us want to concentrate on the next game and getting the next three points and putting us into an even better position,” he explained.

“Anything is possible, I believe. We’re going in the right direction and it’s down to us now to maintain that position and keep the performances coming.

“We’ve still got a lot to learn and a lot to improve and we’re working on that every day in training to get the best out of the players on matchday.

“For the time being, it’s all about working hard in training this week and concentrating on Sunday’s game.”

He then added: “For us, obviously we like to concentrate on ourselves and showing what we can do, first and foremost.

“We know Leicester are a great side and they are maintaining a run of form but the same goes for us as well and I wouldn’t say we’re the underdogs. It’s 11v11 on the pitch and we back ourselves.

“We go into the game full of confidence and hopefully we can get the three points as it would be a huge boost for us.”

Lingard also opened up on his stunning goal against Wolves last time out.

“We’re in really good spirits at the moment – the whole team is, to be honest,” he said.

“It was a good victory and obviously we’re in the top four and we want to maintain that position now.

“It’s up with the best goals I’ve ever scored. It’s similar to a goal I scored against Watford for Manchester United, but I’d say it’s definitely up there.

“With the spin for Pablo’s goal, it was just using my initiative because the ball was going out of play and I just had to get their as quickly as I could, and by the time I got there I knew the defender was there, so I knew I had to spin immediately.

“We’re playing with confidence and winning games and when you’re doing that, things like that will come, and thankfully it came to me.”

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