West Ham are continuing their pursuit of Manchester United's Jesse Lingard but an error on the Premier League website suggests it is already a done deal.
At the backend of last season, David Moyes was clear in his desire for Lingard to return to the London Stadium and assistant coach Stuart Pearce confirmed the Hammers still retain an interest.
Moyes is no longer speaking publicly about Lingard as he is a Manchester United player and the manager does not believe it is correct to talk about another club's player.
However, Pearce was not so coy on Monday: "We would like him to come and join us," Pearce told talkSPORT. "That has been an open secret. He was wonderful last year."
"The ball is in Manchester United’s court. He is contracted to them. We would like him with us, there is no doubt about that," he added.
Whilst it is clear the Hammers would welcome Lingard's return nothing has been confirmed by the club, however, the Premier League website appears to have jumped the gun on the move.
On the official Premier League website, Lingard has been listed as a West Ham player on loan from Manchester United for the second season in succession.
The error does not mean Lingard is guaranteed to be a Hammer once more but if he were to return to the London Stadium he would be more than welcome according to Pearce.
"He’s a special lad and was very good around the players, the players really like him. His ability shone out last year and gave us a great option in our squad," the assistant said.
"You never know, but at this moment in time it looks like he is fighting for a place in the United line-up."
Italian football journalist Fabrizio Romano believes that West Ham are waiting until the end of the transfer window to make their Lingard move:
"They [West Ham] are still keen on Jesse Lingard and he has always been West Ham or Manchester United," Romano said.
He added: "West Ham are still hopeful on signing Lingard, but will have to see whether they can agree a deal with Man Utd.”
