Manchester United’s Jesse Lingard who was recently loaned out to West Ham United has claimed that his last few months at Old Trafford were not very memorable and he believes that he was not provided a chance to prove himself despite working hard and returning in great physical shape following the lockdown.
The English international began his journey West Ham player and was excellent in his debut match against Aston Villa, where he scored a brace in a 3-1 which undoubtedly showed the work he put behindnthe scenes despite not playing for the Red Devils for a long time.
Prior to Solskjaer, when Manchester United was managed by Jose Mourinho, Lingard showed his quality on the pitch alongside Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial and was considered as one of the most important members of the team and was even rated at around £80 million back in 2018.
It is safe to say that he has not been at the peak of his game since then and finds himself completely out of the picture at Old Trafford, which is why he was sent out on loan.
More from Manchester United News
- Aaron Wan Bissaka out for ‘several weeks’ with injury
- Sofyan Amrabat set to miss game against Brighton
- Preview: Manchester United vs Brighton – What you need to know
- Jadon Sancho set to train away from first team squad
- Mike Phelan blasts Manchester United teammates over Ronaldo exit
Jesse Lingard wanted more chances under Ole Gunner Solskjaer
According to the 28-year old winger, lockdown gave him a chance to reflect upon his career and he was determined to perform well this season. Yet he was not provided with the opportunity he believes he should have been given. As reported by the Mirror, in an interview with BT Sport, Lingard said:
"“First and foremost I’m here to play, win and help the team, so hopefully I can do that and we’ll see where we’re at come the end of the season.“It’s about playing with a smile on my face and enjoying my football and getting back to the old Jesse.“During the lockdown, I recapped my best moments playing football – the season under Jose [Mourinho] where I scored all of those goals and went to the World Cup and the season when Ole came in and I started well.“I came back one of the strongest and fittest (in the Man Utd squad) after the lockdown and I didn’t get my chance that I was waiting on but the whole time I was there and not playing I was doing extra training and keeping on top of my fitness for when the time was right.“So for me, it’s about working hard and staying dedicated and I went back to basics.”"
Although loaning him out was probably the right decision on the part of Manchester United at this point of time, it is also undeniable that he was not given too many chances ever since the arrival of Bruno Fernandes.
The Englishman has already shown though that he can still get it done in the Premier League in his West Ham United debut with a brace and then won an important penalty against Sheffield United, with the 3-0 win taking the Hammers above Liverpool in the league table.