West Ham United striker Michail Antonio believes Jesse Lingard joined Nottingham Forest for regular playing time.
Lingard was linked with West Ham United after his contract expired with Manchester United.
The 29-year-old instead signed a one-year deal with Forest, and Antonio was disappointed with his decision.
“I definitely was disappointed,” Antonio told Footballer’s Football Podcast . “He was quality for us, he was a massive player.
“He helped push us and he was one of the reasons why we did finish in Europe. We were looking forward to him [coming back] and he was a player who we definitely need right now in our squad. So the fact that we didn’t get him and Forest did is… it’s a great signing for Forest.”
The forward also shared a theory as to why Lingard chose Forest over West Ham, despite feeling that the London Stadium was ‘better suited’ to the player this season.
He added: “I just put it down to he wanted to go somewhere where he can play week in, week out. At West Ham there’s loads of competition – there’s me, there’s Said [Benrahma], there’s Declan [Rice], there’s Tomas [Soucek] and there’s Jarrod Bowen, because he plays in midfield and up top.
“So he might have thought he might not get as much game time [at West Ham] or he decided that Forest was better suited for him as it was closer to home. I don’t really know the reason behind it.
“I feel West Ham are probably better suited to push on and progress his career – obviously with playing European football and stuff like that – but he probably likes the challenge, wants to go there and enjoy his football and see where he can get Forest in the league.”
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