Paul Merson reacts to West Ham signing Jesse Lingard

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Paul Merson has told Sky Sports that West Ham could have a diamond in Jesse Lingard after signing the Manchester United attacker on loan.

The Hammers enjoyed a fairly quiet winter window. David Moyes’s side converted Said Benrahma’s loan into a permanent move ahead of schedule towards the end of January.

And that decision opened the door for the Irons to sign Lingard. As reported by the Daily Mail, West Ham have paid a £1.5 million loan fee and have agreed to cover his £100,000-a-week wages.

He is still awaiting the chance to make his first Premier League appearance of the season. So the deal could be deemed to be something of a gamble from West Ham.

But Merson insisted that he could be a revelation at the London Stadium if he rediscovers his best form.

He told Sky Sports: “He has played for the biggest club in the world so if he can rediscover his form, I feel he could be the one where other teams are scratching their head thinking, ‘why didn’t we sign Lingard?’

“David Moyes has brought younger players in who are full of energy and he has got them playing his style of football. I was disappointed in them against Liverpool and I expected more from them but he’s still getting his team together. Lingard’s still a good player and has been training well at United. West Ham could have a diamond there.”

It is an expensive loan deal. But West Ham have produced some masterstrokes in the market in recent windows.

Few could have anticipated how impressive Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal would prove to be. Meanwhile, there have been flashes of brilliance from Benrahma since his arrival.

And unlike those players, Lingard actually boasts prior Premier League experience. He has previously proven his quality at the very highest level.

So while it remains to be seen if he can make an impact, it would clearly be foolish to write the England international off at this stage.