Jesse Lingard made the dream start to life out on loan with a brace in West Ham United’s 3-1 win away to Aston Villa.
The 28-year-old midfielder left Manchester United in the January transfer window to join former boss David Moyes at West Ham for the rest of the season.
And it was the perfect start to his Hammers stint as he helped keep their European dream alive with an impressive victory against Villa.
In his first Premier League appearance of the campaign, Lingard netted twice in front of England manager Gareth Southgate to keep Moyes’ men fifth in the Premier League standings.
Lingard is clearly still thought of in high esteem at his parent club, with a number of United stars – and the club itself – delighted with his return to goalscoring form.
Shortly after the game, Lingard took to social media to post a picture of him celebrating scoring at Villa Park.
The caption read: “Perfect start. 2 goals 3 points. #JLingz”
Replies flooded in from teammates.
Marcus Rashford replied saying “Congrats bro!!”, while United centre-back Harry Maguire commented with two fire emojis to express his feelings.
United’s official club account also got involved, posting “Class” with a clapping emoji, and England’s Instagram page joined in, replying “Great stuff, Jesse”.
It wasn’t just the permanent United squad members who were happy to see Lingard back among the goals, but also fellow players who had joined him out on loan.
Diogo Dalot posted “HE’S BACK” with with fire emojis, James Garner said “Let’s goo !!”, while Tahith Chong replied “Happy for you bro”.
Long-term United transfer target, and Lingard’s England compatriot, Jadon Sancho was quick to post, as well. He said: “Let’s gooo!” with a fire emoji.
After the game, Lingard insisted his sole aim was to just start playing football again on a weekly basis.
"I'm coming into my prime years," he told West Ham’s official club media. "I'm 28 and I want to be playing week in, week out.
"It has been a great move at the moment and I've got to carry it on.”
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