West Ham remain interested in bringing Jesse Lingard back to London Stadium this summer, 90min understands.
Lingard is out of contract at Manchester United this summer and, barring a remarkable U-turn, will leave Old Trafford after being associated with the club for more than 20 years.
Newcastle had appeared to be red-hot favourites to sign Lingard this summer, but the Magpies have baulked at his hefty wage demands - which sources have told 90min are comparable to the wages being taken home by Kieran Trippier, their highest earner.
As it stands, Newcastle have backed away from the negotiating table, and 90min understands that West Ham - at the behest of manager David Moyes - are back in touch with Lingard's representatives about a return to the Hammers.
Lingard enjoyed a hugely successful loan spell at West Ham during the 2020/21 season, scoring nine goals in 16 games, but he decided against rejoining the club on a permanent basis - despite serious interest from Moyes to agree a deal - in order to revive his career at Manchester United.
After featuring sporadically under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Lingard has seen his game time further dwindle under interim boss Ralf Rangnick, and he will now leave Old Trafford after growing increasingly frustrated over his lack of minutes.
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West Ham will hope they can lean on Lingard's past experience with them to conclude a deal, but know they will have to make the England international one of their highest paid players if they are to convince him to sign on the dotted line.
That could complicate new contract talks with the likes of Tomas Soucek and Jarrod Bowen, who are due pay increases for their roles in helping West Ham challenge for a top-six Premier League finish, as well as reaching the semi-finals of the Europa League.
There's also rival interest in Lingard from some of Europe's biggest clubs to contend with. 90min has learned that heavyweight Serie A trio AC Milan, Inter and Juventus all still hold an interest, while Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid are long-term admirers of Lingard and remain an option.
Source : 90min