First he was not allowed to change, now he has to rest. Jesse Lingard made it clear on Thursday night that he has a problem with Manchester United.
“Jesse has asked me and the club to give him a few days off to clear his head,” Manchester United coach Ralf Rangnick had said of Lingard this week. But was that really what he wanted?
On Thursday evening, the attacker took to Twitter to refute the claim: “The club told me to take time off for personal reasons! I am clear-headed and will always be professional and give 100 per cent when I am counted on.”
That has definitely not been the case with the Red Devils of late. Although Lingard impressed on loan at West Ham last season, the 29-year-old has managed just a meagre 88 Premier League minutes this term.
The England international was therefore looking for another move, at least on loan, and there were even rumours of a move to nouveau riche Newcastle United. In the end, however, United decided to keep Lingard – also because of the Mason Greenwood case.
“Three weeks ago Jesse didn’t want to leave, then he changed his mind,” Rangnick said on Thursday. “At that time I said if he finds a club and a solution that suits us, we would let him go. But with the developments of the last few days, things have changed. On Monday afternoon, the board said he should stay. We are missing a player who has played regularly and we couldn’t come to an agreement with any club either. “
