West Ham United have reportedly not giving up hope that Jesse Lingard could still join them instead of Nottingham Forest.
The former Manchester United attacking midfielder is a free agent this summer, and previously had an impressive loan spell with the Hammers in the past.
Now, however, it seems West Ham have backtracked on trying to make Lingard the highest earner, though they remain interested in the possibility of a deal, according to the Times.
It seems Nottingham Forest are currently the favourites to sign Lingard, though, with the Times reporting that the newly-promoted side are hijacking the deal by offering the England international more money than the east Londoners.
This would be some statement by Forest if they pulled it off, though it seems West Ham haven’t given up all hope just yet.
Still, it seems they were unsure about upsetting their wage structure by bringing in Lingard on a big-money deal.
It will be interesting to see how this develops, but WHUFC fans will surely be hoping to see Lingard back for a second spell after the tremendous impact he made in a relatively short time just over a year ago.