Speaking on the Glen Hoddle Footy Show podcast, Glen Hoddle has claimed that Jesse Lingard is playing the best football of his career.
In just six appearances for the Hammers, Lingard has amassed four goal and two assists [via Transfermarkt] in an almighty testament to his transformative impact at West Ham.
On loan from Manchester United, the experienced England international garnered praise form Hoddle for the quality he has exhibited in claret and blue, picking out his fitness as a cause for praise:
“What I have been impressed about the boy (Lingard) is he must have kept himself really fit.
“To come into West Ham, play at the top level, be thrown straight in, stay in the team and play as well as he has played.”
And Hoddle even feels the improvement should force Gareth Southgate’s hand in forcing Lingard back into the England national team set-up.
Hoddle said [via The Focus]:
“(Lingard) has played as well as I’ve seen him play, even when he was with United at his best.
“He’ll be there or thereabouts for an England call-up again if he keeps playing like he has. He’s got lots of energy.
“Playing in a West Ham shirt, he doesn’t feel the burden on his shoulders. At United, he sees a lot of stars there, (Bruno) Fernandes for instance.
“I wonder if (Lingard) thinks to himself, ‘Am I as good as him? Am I better than him?’
“That’s what he’s got to do mentally. He’s got to go back to United and feel as if he’s a big player. He feels that at West Ham.”
Opinion
If Lingard continues his eye-catching momentum, Hoddle will be more than vindicated in his England claims.
Lingard must be feeling a rush of confidence that is a boon in sever sense to the Irons.
With West Ham pushing for continental football, David Moyes will increasingly rely on Lingard to supplement the likes of Pablo Fornals and Jarrod Bowen in providing a creative push in front of goal.
