Nottingham Forest have made a substantial offer to sign Jesse Lingard and are in talks with his representatives.
There was a growing feeling Lingard would choose West Ham as his next club. They too have a proposal and are awaiting a decision.
Lingard has other offers too – from the Premier League and abroad – and is expected to decide soon where he goes next.
The 29-year-old is a free agent after his contract at Manchester United expired on June 30.
Lingard scored nine goals and registered five assists for West Ham during a successful loan spell in 2021. He made 231 appearances for Manchester United in all competitions, scoring 35 goals.
West Ham in advanced talks for Broja | Awaiting response over Onana
West Ham’s first signing of the summer window was defender Nayef Aguerd, who joined from Rennes for £30m, and they also activated an option to buy goalkeeper Alphonse Areola for £7.75m from Paris Saint-Germain after his successful loan stint last season.
Hammers boss David Moyes is looking to improve his squad ahead of a season that will see West Ham combine Premier League improvement with a first Europa Conference League campaign.
They are in advanced talks to sign Chelsea forward Armando Broja but Thomas Tuchel recently played down talk that he is set to leave the club on loan this summer.
West Ham are also awaiting a response from Lille over the potential transfer of midfielder Amadou Onana and remain in discussions with Sassuolo over the signing of striker Gianluca Scamacca.
Busy Forest to add Lingard ahead of PL return?
Nottingham Forest have been busy so far in the transfer market ahead of their long-awaited Premier League return.
Last month, Steve Cooper’s side signed Nigeria forward Taiwo Awoniyi for a club-record £17.5m fee and have recently brought in Moussa Niakhate and Neco Williams – both in deals worth £17m.
Forest, who open their campaign with a trip to Newcastle on August 6, have also signed Brandon Aguilera, Giulian Biancone, Omar Richards, Dean Henderson, Ryan Hammond and Wayne Hennessey.
Convincing Lingard to play at the City Ground too would be a significant coup for Cooper.
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Who will be on the move this summer before the transfer window closes at 11pm on September 1.
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