Manchester United playmaker Jesse Lingard has reiterated his desire for regular playing time after flourishing with West Ham in the second half of the 2020/21 campaign.
Lingard joined the Hammers in January and proved to be a revelation in East London, scoring nine goals and adding four assists in 16 games to seal qualification for the Europa League.
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Lingard has made 210 appearances for United, having spent his entire career at Old Trafford, barring a few loan outs.
Prior to his loan change, he struggled to make his way into United’s starting eleven under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with several star names such as Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes filling current play-making roles at Old Trafford.
Lingard, however, wants to make sure he has minutes on the field next season, whether at Man United or elsewhere.
“Regular football is the most important thing to me,” Lingard told Sky Sports.
“After going on loan and having a good run in the team, you started to see the real me, with the goals and the assists.
“I have never doubted my ability, I have always believed in myself.”
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No one knows what the future holds for Lingard right now.
West Ham was believed to be interested in signing the 28-year-old, but was put off by United’s £ 40 million valuation of the player.
And Lingard moved to explain how Solskjaer granted his wish to leave.
He said, “I spoke to the manager [Solskjaer] in preseason [2020] and he said, ‘I need playtime.’ He said, ‘We can discuss it in December’, and we talked again and he agreed to let me go on loan.
“I had several conversations with him during my time at West Ham. He was very supportive and it was a great loan for me ”.
Lingard’s impressive return to form earned him a call-up to the England squad in March, but he did not make the 26-man squad for Euro 2020 and has admitted he was ‘thrilled’ by the slight.
“It was emotional,” he said. “You are sad and depressed, but you have to respect the coach’s decision.
“Gareth and I have a great relationship, and now it’s about supporting the kids.”
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