Jesse Lingard’s situation at Manchester United is far from ideal to say the least. Rumours suggested that he wanted a loan move away in January after struggling for playing time at Old Trafford but did not get it, despite there being interest from Newcastle United. Since then, there has been some controversy about his availability for the squad with things unclear.
On top of that, Lingard’s current deal with Manchester United is set to run out next summer, meaning he looks almost certain to leave the club as a free agent at the end of this season unless something unexpected happens over the coming months.
The immediate situation surrounding Lingard appears to have been taken care of though and he is set to be a part of the Manchester United squad that will take on Burnley away at Turf Moor in their next game in the Premier League.
Ralf Rangnick gave an update on Lingard’s situation. Speaking ahead of the trip to Burnley, as reported by the Mirror, the Manchester United interim manager said:
"“There are no problems whatsoever between myself and Jesse and vice versa. I’m happy to have him in the squad and, as I said, he will be a member of the squad for tomorrow’s game.”"
What does the future hold for Lingard at Manchester United?
While it looks like he is back in the squad again, one has to wonder what the long-term future looks like for Lingard at Manchester United.
He had a tremendous half-a-season loan spell at West Ham United last season and there were high hopes that he would make his mark at Old Trafford in this campaign. That has not turned out to be the case though. In fact, the English international has barely featured till now.
As a result, it is more than likely that he will end up leaving at the end of the current campaign, when his contract runs out and there is not expected to be any lack of interest in the England international’s signature, especially as a free agent.