Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard has admitted that he needs to be playing regular football ahead of the World Cup in 2022.
Lingard’s career looked to have stuttered to a standstill as of January 2021, but his mid-season loan move to West Ham proved to be a masterstroke.
The 28-year-old was influential in West Ham’s success in qualifying for European football, yet still missed out on the England squad for Euro 2020.
Having stuck around at Manchester United for the 2021/22 campaign, Lingard was clearly intent on proving his worth to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Yet, despite having made some effective cameos off the bench, Solskjaer has refused to include Lingard in his starting XI for Premier League games.
With 2022 being World Cup year and potentially the last chance for Lingard to make his mark on the international stage, he needs to be playing week-in, week-out.
That’s something that he himself recognises, as quoted by Sky Sports:
“Obviously, the World Cup is a long way away but… you need regular football.”
“I was so close to going to the Euros and I think obviously it plays a huge part and it’s a big factor. If you’re playing over 20 or 25 games, of course you know you’re knocking on the door so I think it does play a big part in that.”
“I’m not doing any harm at the moment – if I keep performing well and doing well you never know what might happen so I keep confident in myself and when I get when I get time on the pitch I’ve got to carry on doing what I’m doing.”
“You want to start games. When I’m a sub I’m always ready to play. I’m always ready to be needed when I’m called up.”
“It’s one of those things I’m going through at the moment but I think on recent performances hopefully we’ll see a change in the next few weeks.”
With Lingard speaking so candidly about his need for game-time, it’s difficult to see him remaining at Man United beyond the January window unless anything significantly changes.
Considering his contract is due to expire next summer, any interested parties shouldn’t have to break the bank in order to get him through the door this winter.