Ole Gunnar Solskjaer provides cryptic update on Jesse Lingard’s Man United future
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer this afternoon spoke out over the situation of transfer-linked midfielder Jesse Lingard.
Hammers standout
The name of English international Lingard has of course taken centre stage in the media chatter this summer.
This comes with the 28-year-old fresh off the back of something of a career revival over the 2nd half of last season.
After again struggling for game-time over the opening half of the campaign at Old Trafford, Lingard was farmed out on loan to West Ham, with whom he went on to exceed all expectations.
Having been handed the freedom of the Hammers’ ranks in the middle of the park to operate, the creative midfielder quickly established himself as one of the Premier League’s standout performers.
All told, he racked up nine goals and four assists across 16 appearances in the colours of West Ham, the kind of form which culminated in a Player and Goal of the Month double back in April:
Jesse Lingard won Premier League Player of the Month for April.
He also won Goal of the Month, for this 😍
(via @WestHam)pic.twitter.com/uRZI24JuET
— B/R Football (@brfootball) May 14, 2021
‘First priority…’
Such stellar exploits, in turn, led to inevitable speculation that Lingard could go on to seal a swift return to the London Stadium, on the back of his loan stint coming to an end last month.
To this point, however, despite David Moyes having made clear that he would welcome the 28-year-old back with open arms, such a move has not been forthcoming.
Lingard was not part of the Manchester United squad which got the better of Leeds in the club’s season opener last weekend, after testing positive for Covid-19.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 05: Jesse Lingard of Manchester United celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Arsenal FC at Old Trafford on December 5, 2018 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Having since returned to training with the rest of the Red Devils’ first-team ranks, though, the subject of Lingard’s future was inevitably brought to the fore during Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s latest press conference this afternoon.
And the United boss’ response proved somewhat cryptic.
First, when pressed on the possibility of Lingard moving on, Solskjaer simply explained that:
‘I think Jesse’s first priority is to get into our team.’
‘I think whenever your employer is Man United, I think that’s your first priority. It always is and I think together we can have great moments.’
Interestingly, this comes fresh on the back of reports on Thursday that the midfielder is ready to push for an Old Trafford exit, if not assured of playing time for the season ahead.
From here, though, Solskjaer was keen to reiterate Lingard’s importance, insisting that the Englishman still has ‘a big part to play’ at the club:
‘Jesse’s back to his fitness, he played really well in the behind-closed-doors game on Tuesday.’
‘He’s come back bubbly and in good shape, so he’s got a big part to play.’
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insists Jesse Lingard has ‘big part to play’ at United https://t.co/PgUQ2pYy6D
— Indy Football (@IndyFootball) August 20, 2021
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester United | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| 2 | Chelsea FC | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| 3 | Liverpool FC | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | West Ham United | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 5 | Everton FC | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 6 | Brentford FC | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 7 | Watford FC | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 8 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 9 | Leicester City | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 10 | Tottenham Hotspur | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 12 | Burnley FC | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 13 | Manchester City | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 14 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 15 | Newcastle United | 1 | -2 | 0 |
| 16 | Southampton FC | 1 | -2 | 0 |
| 17 | Arsenal FC | 1 | -2 | 0 |
| 18 | Crystal Palace | 1 | -3 | 0 |
| 19 | Norwich City | 1 | -3 | 0 |
| 20 | Leeds United | 1 | -4 | 0 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 3 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 1 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 1 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 1 |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 1 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 1 |
| Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United | 1 |
| Alonso, Marcos | Chelsea FC | 1 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 1 |
| Ayling, Luke | Leeds United | 1 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 1 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United | 1 |
| Ings, Danny | Aston Villa | 1 |
| Norgaard, Christian | Brentford FC | 1 |
| Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool FC | 1 |
| Tarkowski, James | Burnley FC | 1 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 1 |
| Fred | Manchester United | 1 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa | 1 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 1 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 0 | 1 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 1 |
| Tarkowski, James | Burnley FC | 0 | 1 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 0 | 1 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 1 |
| Milner, James | Liverpool FC | 0 | 1 |
| Shelvey, Jonjo | Newcastle United | 0 | 1 |
| Cooper, Liam | Leeds United | 0 | 1 |
| Kucka, Juraj | Watford FC | 0 | 1 |
| Gudmundsson, Johann | Burnley FC | 0 | 1 |
| Marcal, Fernando | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | 1 |
| Moura, Lucas | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 1 |
| Grealish, Jack | Manchester City | 0 | 1 |
| Shaw, Luke | Manchester United | 0 | 1 |
| Mings, Tyrone | Aston Villa | 0 | 1 |
| Sema, Ken | Watford FC | 0 | 1 |
| Sanchez, Davinson | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 1 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 0 | 1 |
| Etebo, Oghenekaro | Watford FC | 0 | 1 |
| Cantwell, Todd | Norwich City | 0 | 1 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 4 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 2 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 1 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 1 |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 1 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 1 |
| Ritchie, Matt | Newcastle United | 1 |
| Cleverley, Tom | Watford FC | 1 |
| Townsend, Andros | Everton FC | 1 |
| Gross, Pascal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 1 |
| Westwood, Ashley | Burnley FC | 1 |
| Dallas, Stuart | Leeds United | 1 |
| Kovacic, Mateo | Chelsea FC | 1 |
| Lindelof, Victor | Manchester United | 1 |
| Pereira, Ricardo | Leicester City | 1 |
| Saint-Maximin, Allan | Newcastle United | 1 |
| Iwobi, Alex | Everton FC | 1 |
| Bergwijn, Steven | Tottenham Hotspur | 1 |
| Adams, Che | Southampton FC | 1 |
| Bailey, Leon | Aston Villa | 1 |
