Garth Crooks has claimed that Tottenham Hotspur were desperate for a player like Jesse Lingard and admitted that he could not understand why they did not attempt to sign the Manchester United man during the January transfer window.
West Ham snapped up Lingard on loan last month and the 28-year-old has been on fire since arriving at the London Stadium.
His brilliant finish at the start of the second half proved the difference between Spurs and West Ham yesterday after Mourinho’s men fell to a 2-1 defeat.
Tottenham have been heavily linked with Lingard in the past, with reports claiming during last summer’s transfer window that Mourinho wanted the Man Utd man to replace Dele Alli at Spurs.
Lingard was also reportedly on the North Londoners’ radar during the January transfer window before he completed a move to David Moyes’ side.
Crooks admitted his column for BBC Sport that he expected Mourinho to reunite with the midfielder.
After Lingard’s match-winning performance against Spurs, the former Tottenham striker wrote: “The Manchester United loanee is having a ball in east London.
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“David Moyes and Jose Mourinho are former managers of Manchester United and both know exactly what Lingard can do.
“I find it particularly interesting that it is Moyes who has given Lingard a chance to rejuvenate his career, when it was Spurs who desperately needed him. Lingard is playing out of his skin.”
Spurs Web Opinion
It is easy to say in hindsight that we should have got Lingard but the vast majority of Spurs fans on social media reacted very disapprovingly to the speculation linking us with a move for the Man Utd man. I believed then as I do now that Lingard would be a better fit for our style of play than Dele Alli.
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