Manchester United have reportedly slapped a £30m price tag on playmaker Jesse Lingard and will stick to it rigidly following the 28-year-old's sublime loan spell with West Ham.
Lingard's form has skyrocketed since securing a January transfer window loan switch to east London, with the Hammers now shock contenders for Champions League football as a result of his exploits.
Lingard has flourished under David Moyes and now, with United expecting bids to come in, have valued their asset at £30m, according to the Mirror.
Selling Lingard would enable United to both free up the wage bill while also raising funds for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to add to his squad this summer.
After agreeing the loan move West Ham did not agree an option to buy within the contract terms, meaning the two clubs must now sit down at the negotiation table.
The Hammers are 'ready to do whatever it takes' to bring Lingard to the London Stadium permanently, as report Sky Sports.
So far Lingard has scored six times in eight league outings for his temporary club, with the most recent coming in the form of an excellent solo goal in Monday night's victory over Wolves.
His displays have earned him an England recall, with Lingard a serious contender to be part of Gareth Southgate’s European Championship squad.
No formal talks over a permanent move have taken place between the Hammers and United but the London club are keen to address the issue before the end of the season.
This week United legend Gary Neville heaped praise on Lingard and the work he has done to prove himself away from Old Trafford, though struck a pessimistic chord regarding his future.
Neville admitted United would benefit greatly from Lingard returning to the club in such a rich vein of form, but insists the playmaker will always have to make do with a bit-part role.
Neville said: 'At Manchester United because there is that expectation of what you need to be, to be a wide player there, he's always going to get a difficult press.
'He's a really good player. He's going to have a great career. Manchester United have sent him out to West Ham to boost his career, maybe with the thought of boosting his price tag, but they might be thinking, "actually, we might want him back, he could be a real help to us."
'But if he's willing to go back there and compete and be the player that Dan James has been for the last few weeks, in and out, then there's no doubt he can play for Manchester United.
'If Jesse wants to play, and you can see he does want to play, then he needs to leave, because he's not going to play every single week for a Manchester United team that's competing for second or first place in the league.'
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