Jesse Lingard’s Manchester United future has been up in the air for some time now. He enjoyed a tremendous half-a-season long loan spell at West Ham United last season and as a result, was heavily linked with a permanent move to the club in the summer. But it did not materialise and he ultimately ended up staying. While expectations were high from him, it is safe to say that things have not quite gone his way.
Lingard has barely featured till now. According to stats from Transfermarkt, he has made 12 appearances and played just 267 minutes of football in total. That is not what he would have been expecting after scoring 9 goals and providing 5 assists in just 16 appearances for West Ham United last season.
Thus, it should not come as a surprise that he is already being linked with a move away. But it looks like that might not be on the cards this January.
Lingard’s current contract with the club runs out at the end of the season. And as reported by The Athletic, he has decided he will not be making a switch in the upcoming window, and will try to break into Ralf Rangnick’s first-team plans instead. On the other hand, Newcastle United, who had been linked with a move for the Englishman, do not intend to pursue it at present.
Lingard looks set to stay at Manchester United
It looks like Lingard will be staying on at Manchester United despite his lack of playing time this season.
Such a decision makes sense for the player though. If he cannot win a place in the starting XI, he will be free to walk out as a free agent next summer, when his current deal runs out.
At the moment, with just months left on his contract, Lingard is pretty much holding all the cards and it looks like he has made his decision.