Jesse Lingard
In my opinion the most deserving of the shirt. Jesse Lingard has been in brilliant form for both club and country this season. He ticks all the boxes.
Despite being labelled as young, Lingard is 25-years old. He should be producing now as he is in his peak years. Perhaps he gets labelled younger than he is due to his inexperience at this level. Breaking into the first team midway through 2015/16, this is only Lingard’s second full season for his boyhood club.
But the Warrington born lad has certainly taken his chances this season. The attacking midfielder is the clubs second top goalscorer behind Romelu Lukaku with 13 goals. He has also notched up six assists.
Once again, having come through Manchester United’s youth academy and grafting out on loan at four different clubs, it would send out a great message that the club is firmly behind promoting youth players still if he were to be handed the prestigious shirt number.
With Lingard making waves on the international scene for England too, the shirt would still have some global appeal. Given Jesse also has a contract with Adidas, this would help boost his brand further.
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Jesse Lingard has had such a good season for Manchester United. He is now a contender for the Sir Matt Busby Award and I believe being handed a lower shirt number should be a recognition of how well you have developed. And no one has developed more or is more deserving of the iconic Manchester United number 10 shirt than Jesse Lingard himself.