Report: West Ham offered ‘brilliant’ player £127k-a-week contract, he rejected them and signed elsewhere for way less

Add as preferred source on Google

Jesse Lingard recently joined Nottingham Forest in what was one of the shock moves this summer. And according to the Telegraph, he rejected a better contract offer from West Ham United to sign for Steve Cooper for less money.

The ‘brilliant’ midfielder had offers on the table from Forest and West Ham, as well as other clubs. But Lingard chose to join newly-promoted Forest in a surprising turn of events.

Lingard was apparently offered £127,000 per week to rejoin Moyes in West London but decided against the move.

The 29-year-old spent the second half of the 2020-21 season on loan at West Ham and was expected to make a permanent move back to the club after a hugely successful spell there.

Lingard rejected West Ham

The Telegraph reports that Lingard was left so impressed with Forest’s attempts to sign him, that he took a lower wage to join them over West Ham.

The England international was offered £127,000 per week and a signing-on fee close to £1m to rejoin the Hammers

But in the end he took a basic salary of £80,000-a-week to join Steve Cooper at the City Ground.

Lingard signing shows Forest still have pulling power

The player was clearly impressed by the project Forest pitched to him if he turned down a higher wage offer at a club he performed so well at.

Everton also offered Lingard a contract and West Ham were hopeful that they would land their former player.

But now Lingard has linked up with Cooper at Forest and was clearly convinced by what is going on at the club.

The Reds have brought in 12 players so far this summer and are showing admirable ambition as they look to cement their place in the Premier League over the coming years.

If Lingard did turn down a higher offer at West Ham to join Forest this summer, then it’s a great sign for the club. The Englishman represents a statement signing for Cooper and means Forest still have pulling power to attract top players.