Jesse Lingard has seen any opportunity to feature in the starting line-up consistently blocked by the addition of new attackers this summer.
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Jesse Lingard has reportedly rejected a new deal from Manchester United after turning down a summer move to West Ham United. The 28-year-old, who spent the back end of last season with the Hammers decided to stay at Old Trafford to fight for his place at the club. The England international has worked his way up through the academy all the way to the senior side of the Red Devils. However, the arrival of Jadon Sancho and Cristiano Ronaldo seems to have made it difficult for him to get regular game time.
Lingard had an impressive loan spell at West Ham last season, where he scored 9 goals in 16 games. Also, since coming back to United, he had a very good pre-season for the club which led to the Red Devils offering him a new deal, with his current one coming to an end at the conclusion of this season.
But, according to reports coming in, the attacking midfielder has decided to reject the deal having seen any opportunity to feature in the starting line-up consistently blocked by the addition of new players this summer. Meanwhile, he has been in spectacular form for the Three Lions in the World Cup qualifiers, scoring two goals and providing an assist in the 4-0 win over Andorra on Sunday. Lingard is looking ahead to representing England at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, therefore he needs more regular game time.
“Well I know at times we’ve had a lot of criticism for including him in squads, he’s just a player who always played well for us,” said England boss Gareth Southgate lauding Lingard in his post-match press conference.
“He has always been a threat on goal, his link play is really bright. When we ask him to start wide, we know he’s going to come in off the line and play those little give-and-goes and get into those dangerous positions.”
The Englishman has featured in only one Premier League game this season- an off-the-bench cameo against Southampton. Solskjaer already possesses the likes of Ronaldo, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood, Edinson Cavani, Bruno Fernandes and Sancho as options in the attacking department. Therefore Lingard is unlikely to get more playing time.
With his future up in the air now, he could talk to foreign clubs in January itself so as to negotiate a free transfer at the end of the season.
However, since the Englishman will stay at Old Trafford for the next couple of months, he could offer a different dimension to the Red Devils’ attack as shown in the win against Andorra for England. He is someone who can fit into any of the attacking positions, be it the wings or through the centre.
Rashford, Sancho and Martial are more of direct dribblers who can take on defenders and dominate the wings whereas Lingard can also chip into pockets of space and play neat progressive passes from either flanks. Against a well set up defensive line-up, Lingard’s intelligence could be handy to break down the tight opposition defence. The attacker can open up the game with clever first touches as he did with Andorra. Solskjaer could use his sophistication in tight spaces to good effect.
