Will Manchester United finally resolve the Jesse Lingard situation this January transfer window? If they don’t, they risk losing the England midfielder as a free agent this summer. Newcastle United are ready to offer the 29-year-old a permanent move to St James’ Park, according to several media outlets.
The relegation threatened club have already signed two players this month, and according to The Telegraph, they could make as many as five additions this January transfer window. Tottenham misfit Del Alli has also been strongly linked.
Would the strugglers on the Tyne sign both attacking midfielders? Is Jesse Lingard even interested? According to ESPN, only if the move is of the loan variety.
Lingard reportedly wants to assess his options again in the summer after failing to make a single Premier League start so far this season.
He was surplus to requirements last season, and when the club finally closed the Jadon Sancho deal, something that took Old Trafford over two years to do, Lingard slid further down the depth chart. We all saw this coming.
He went out on loan to West Ham United last winter, where he scored nine goals in 16 games. He was simply dominant for the Hammers.
Lingard, out of contract this summer, is said to be interested in a return to the London Stadium, but United will only consider a permanent transfer to West Ham, and not explore a loan deal.
Multiple reports, including this one from Fabrizio Romano, claim that Newcastle’s original offer for Jesse Lingard got declined. Honestly, United and the England winger really should have figured this out this past summer.
It was clear to anyone paying close attention that he just wasn’t going to fit in at his boyhood club this season.
Lingard is still a very talented and creative player and when he’s getting regular full-time football, and if/when he does get that again, his spark and quality will be on full display.
His game winning goal against his former club, earlier this season, was a storybook moment, and that’s what he has the potential to provide.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.