Manchester United to make final call on Jesse Lingard’s future only after FA Cup tie against Liverpool with boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer keen to avoid being left short amid fixture pile-up
- A decision has yet to be made on if Jesse Lingard leaves Man United this month
- The Man United outcast has not started a Premier League game in over a year
- Lingard has a year and a half left on his contract and wants consistent football
- Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will wait until after facing Liverpool in the FA Cup to decide
Manchester United will decide on Jesse Lingard’s future after the FA Cup tie with Liverpool.
Lingard is wanted on loan by Newcastle United, West Brom and Sheffield United and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will take stock once he knows his side’s FA Cup fate.
Lingard, 28, remains part of United’s squad and could be utilised with a heavy fixture list.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has remained tight-lipped over United outcast Jesse Lingard’s future
Newcastle boss Steve Bruce would like to bring in Lingard and Leicester City’s Hamza Choudhury though he faces competition on both from Sam Allardyce. However, West Brom only have one domestic loan space available.
The 28-year-old has struggled for any sort of consistent action over the past 12 months.
While he started in the FA Cup third round win over Watford, Lingard has not been named in the first-team line-up for a Premier League game in over a year.
The 28-year-old academy product has been starved of first-team football for over a year
United are still in the Premier League title race, FA Cup and Europa League and in such a packed schedule Lingard is being kept in case of injury.
Solskjaer has remained coy over where Lingard’s future lies and refused to be drawn when asked about the midfielder ahead of last Sunday’s league clash with Premier League champions Liverpool.
‘Jesse is part of our group,’ the United boss told Sky Sports.
‘Of course we have not seen the best of Jesse, we’ve not seen a lot of Jesse this season, for different reasons.
‘He has got a year and a half left on his contract, I speak to Jesse more or less every day so our communication is really good.
Solskjaer refused to be drawn in on reports linking the playmaker with an exit this month
‘He works really hard in training and he is ready for his chances when they come and we just take it from there.’
Addressing rumours of a switch to a European league, Solskjaer revealed that Lingard is eager to play consistent football.
‘I can’t really speak for Jesse and what we have spoken about but of course Jesse wants to play football and he is a good player when he plays football at his best so let’s see what will happen,’ Solskjaer added.
