Kevin Phillips believes Jesse Lingard will force a move out of Manchester United in January after being omitted from Gareth Southgate’s latest England squad.
Jesse Lingard felt the opportunities would come at Manchester United this season after some promising comments by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer during the off-season. He made a glowing impression while on loan with West Ham United in the second half of last season, scoring nine goals and laying five assists while helping the side qualify for the UEFA Europa League.
However, Lingard made the bold decision to stick around at Manchester United despite the club spending heavily on attacking talents in the summer, including the purchases of Jadon Sancho and Cristiano Ronaldo. West Ham were keen on signing him permanently, but the attacking midfielder decided to keep faith in Solskjaer.
In the 11 Premier League games this season, Lingard has only featured in five, all as a substitute while accumulating only 63 minutes of action. To his credit, he has two goals to show for his cause. However, he remained an unused substitute in Manchester United’s latest defeat at Old Trafford at the hands of Manchester City.
Earlier in the season, Solskjaer spoke about handing the midfielder a new contract as the season progressed, although that looks unlikely in the current circumstances. Lingard has plenty of admirers in the market and could finally decide to move on in January with his current contract expiring at the end of the season.
In recent developments, due to a lack of game time, Lingard got dropped from the latest England squad for the November international break. The attacking midfielder would be keen to play for the national side next year at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar and would need regular club-level playing time to get back into Gareth Southgate’s plans.
Former Premier League striker Kevin Phillips, speaking to Football Insider, remained confident regarding an exit for Lingard when the January window opens. He believes the attacking midfielder will force a move out of Manchester United in the upcoming transfer window.
Phillips said, “I think from Lingard’s point of view, he will want to leave the club in January – 100%. Even if it’s just a loan move, he can go out and play football as he did at West Ham. It’ll be a similar scenario to that.”
“That will put him firmly back into the England fold with the World Cup coming up. There’s no surprise that Lingard isn’t in that squad, and he will be looking to move on in January.”
If he becomes available in the next window, it will be interesting to see which club is best placed to sign Lingard. Everton have been recently tipped to sign him, while West Ham might try their luck once again, as he knows David Moyes well and certainly suits the Hammers’ system.
