Jesse Lingard absolutely needed to go out on loan last season to prove himself again, but he did that at West Ham with nine goals and five assists in his sixteen appearances.
That demonstrated that he can be a gamechanger in the Premier League rather than just being a squad player, but the problem is that he won’t be anything more than that at Old Trafford next season.
The signing of Jadon Sancho will further reduce his chances of playing, but it’s also possible that he’s kept around as cover with Anthony Martial struggling for form and Marcus Rashford could be injured for the start of next season.
A report from Sky Sports has looked at some comments from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and it sounds pretty clear that they plan to keep him:
“He was one of the positives. He’s a Manchester United player and he wants to fight for his place. He’s come back bright, confident and with lots of energy. I think everyone saw what he did at the end of last season with West Ham.
“He’s still in my plans. I expect him at Man Utd at the start of the season.”
That’s an issue for West Ham as it’s confirmed that they still want to bring him back, but it could also depend on what Lingard wants as you have to hope he enjoyed being a key part of a team last season rather than just sitting in the stands.
This may also be a ploy from Solskjaer to push up his transfer value, but it does sound like he won’t be going anywhere else for now.
I cant see Lingard being started regularly.
3rd or 4th choice I would imagine.
Surely he can see that?
at West Ham he would be one of the first names on the team sheet, which would hopefully increase his chances for the England World Cup squad