Jesse Lingard turns memes into plaudits with carefree attitude and serious form

In 2019/20, Jesse Lingard almost went a whole season without a goal or assist in the Premier League.

He scored in the 98th minute of Man United’s final game to avoid the unwanted accolade but it was not enough to spare him widespread ridicule, some of stemming from his own fans.

The Englishman has several waves of criticisms during his career.

Most notably, a meme developed about his perceived failure to live up to his potential.

People online would often make tongue-in-cheek comments about how Lingard was an up-and-coming youngster who would flourish into a great player given enough time — the joke being, at 28 years old, he should have reached his peak two or three seasons ago.

But the memes have dried up in recent weeks with many pundits keen to heap praise on Lingard for his performances since joining West Ham on loan, and deservedly so.

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Since joining the Irons, he’s scored five goals and provided two assists in seven league appearances.

If Lingard can muster three more goals before the end of the campaign, he will equal his best-ever season for league goals — something he would almost certainly have achieved had he made the temporary switch of clubs in the summer.

Having been totally discarded by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Lingard’s confidence has been restored under David Moyes to point he’s earned an England recall.

And a timely one it is too with a major tournament rapidly approaching.

Lingard’s Dream Team form has caught the eye of some bosses, and a few have had the courage to transfer him — his ownership currently sits at 3%.

The brave minority have been handsomely repaid for their decision.

Lingard has amassed 50 points since his move south in January.

Since then, he averaged 6.25 points per Game Week.

After only taking a point off Arsenal having taken a 3-0 lead in 32 minutes, West Ham have only won one of their last four games but they remain in contention for Champions League qualification.

Europa League qualification would be a terrific consolation given the expectations of Moyes and his team at the start of the season.

Could Lingard’s form bring Champions League football to east London?

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