Jesse Lingard has refuted suggestions from Manchester United that were aired out to the public by Ralf Rangnick on his situation at the club.
In the pre-match press conference ahead of tomorrow night’s FA Cup clash against Middlesbrough, Ralf Rangnick stated that Lingard asked for some time off due to ‘personal reasons’, but Lingard has claimed that this was actually advised by the club – not himself.
Lingard was adamant with his thoughts on the ‘time off’ as he added an exclamation mark to his point on Twitter, before adding that his ‘headspace is clear’ and that he’ll ‘always be professional when called upon and give 100%’
In the same section of the press conference, Rangnick also admitted that the arrest of Mason Greenwood was a factor that led to Lingard remaining at the club, despite asking to leave before the January transfer window closed, having barely played so far this season.
Lingard has started just two of his 14 appearances across all competitions this season, riding the bench and being left to the occasional cameo despite reigniting himself in a six-month loan spell at West Ham last season with remarkable performances.
The club advised me to have time off due to personal reasons! But my headspace is clear and I’ll always be professional when called upon and give 100 percent
— Jesse Lingard (@JesseLingard) February 3, 2022
Lingard has just seen 88 minutes of action in the Premier League, with his only outings since the start of December being two substitute appearances, one of which being barely a minute-long.
Whilst the arrest of Greenwood and the subsequent suspension from first-team activity that this has brought has seemingly led to the hierarchy keeping Lingard at the club, he’s still behind Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial in the pecking order so it’s hard to see how he’ll be handed even a remotely adequate number of minutes over the second-half of the season.
It certainly doesn’t look like he’ll have the pathway to the kind of playing time to win himself a spot in the England squad for upcoming international breaks.