Man Utd Will Listen to Offers for Jesse Lingard This Summer
Manchester United will listen to offers for attacking midfielder Jesse Lingard ahead of next season as manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looks to advance with the squad overhaul he began last summer.
Lingard has scored in each of his last two appearances for United – the final day Premier League clash with Leicester and this week’s Europa League tie against LASK – but the England international’s Old Trafford future beyond this season has been uncertain for some time.
With Solskjaer settling on a preferred XI that ultimately fired United into the Premier League top four and therefore next season’s Champions League, Lingard was pushed out of favour. He didn’t play in 10 consecutive games between early February and mid-July, only making the bench for two of those fixtures despite matchday squads being expanded to 20 players.
Lingard hasn’t started a league match since New Year’s Day and has been part of Solskjaer’s cup rotation side, although he was also absent for the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea.
The Guardian explains that while Solskjaer does ‘admire’ Lingard, having initially coached him at reserve level a decade ago, the player is seen as ‘surplus to requirements’.
Mason Greenwood has become a regular starter on the right flank, which United also hope to strengthen with the summer capture of Jadon Sancho. In the ‘number 10’ role, meanwhile, Bruno Fernandes is undroppable as a result of the impact he has had on the squad since his January arrival.
Lingard is among six players earmarked for sale this summer in the hope of raising a transfer budget that will be limited by the financial impact of the coronavirus crisis. Alexis Sanchez has already joined Inter without a transfer fee, but United still hope to recoup some cash on Chris Smalling, Marcos Rojo, Phil Jones and Diogo Dalot in addition to Lingard.
The latter, along with Jones, has been linked with West Ham in recent weeks, which would mean reuniting with former United boss David Moyes, under whom he enjoyed a strong pre-season in 2013. Lingard’s agent, Mino Raiola, also opens up the possibility of a transfer abroad.
However, as 90min exclusively revealed in May, Lingard won’t be forced out of the club he has represented since 2000 against his will. In that regard, United are even considering triggering an option to extend his contract by 12 months until 2022. That would somewhat protect his transfer value if no suitable offers arrive this summer and an arrangement to leave is not agreed.
“He should be at the peak of his career and does he only want to play 10/15/20 games [per season]?” United legend Paul Scholes commented this week.
“Jesse is a good lad, he just needs a run of games but I don’t think he will get that at Manchester United, maybe at a mid-table team like an Everton or West Ham.”
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