Manchester United marked the beginning of their pre-season with an impressive 2-1 victory over Wayne Rooney’s Derby County earlier this evening. 21-year-old Tahith Chong and 19-year-old Facundo Pellistri got their names on the scoresheet; however, Jesse Lingard’s second-half heroics made the headlines as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, in his post-match interview, confirmed that the Englishman is still in his plans at the moment.
Lingard made a huge difference for the Red Devils after coming on at half-time as he linked up the attacking gameplay on numerous occasions and even smacked a marvellous effort against the woodwork.
“He came seven or eight days later than the rest, but he’s a naturally fit boy. He’s a man, he played with a few boys, but he’s one of the men!” – The Norwegian tactician said.
“Jesse has come back, been bright, he wants to fight for his place, and there’s nothing better than seeing players want to fight for their place.”
“What he did towards the end of last season, that’s the true Jesse, that’s what we know he’s capable of and, for us, I think we saw towards the end that we lacked some options at times and Jesse is in the plans at the moment, yeah.”
Jesse Lingard’s Phenomenal Spell At London Stadium
From struggling to get minutes under Solskjaer to narrowly missing out on a place in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the Euro Championship– it’ll be an understatement to say that Lingard’s loan move to West Ham rejuvenated his career and restored him to the frame.
With thirteen-goal contributions in sixteen appearances for the Hammers, the 28-year-old hit the ground running at his new club as he set new standards every week under David Moyes.
Lingard managed to put up some awe-inspiring numbers on the board in the second half of last season as he averaged 2.6 shots, 1.1 key passes, 1.1 dribbles, 0.4 crosses, and 1 long ball per 90 minutes in the Premier League. Besides, with an average WhoScored rating of 7.22, he established himself as one of the chief creators of his side.
It’d be fair to say that if the Warrington-born midfielder shows the same consistency, in the long run, he’d be a decent addition to the present United squad.
Does Solskjaer Really Need Him?
The Norwegian coach has plenty of options to choose from when it comes to the attacking midfield position, and it’s beyond any doubt that the Englishman will have to face some tough competition if he wishes to feature regularly in United’s starting eleven in the upcoming season. Besides, the signing of Jadon Sancho has further diminished his chances of achieving the same and given his age; it’s doubtful that he’d be willing to spend another season in the sporadic role.
Under such circumstances, it’d be better if the board puts an affordable price tag on the player. He’ll potentially attract a lot of interest in the coming weeks, and a summer sale would make perfect sense for all the parties involved.
(Stats from WhoScored)
