Real recognize real (or sometimes not!) : the Jesse Lingard thread

Real shame that we left the sale of James too late and couldn't (or rather would not) go thru with Lingard's. Since the remit always was, after Varane and Sancho, that we had to sell in order to buy further, both of those sales would have covered the cost of someone like Bissouma (among others).
Ronaldo was the exception (since he pretty much will pay for himself). Real shame though: still hoping against hope that we could move for a solution in January. Smart money still is that we'll leave it until next summer.

 

He would, more than likely. But barring the unforeseen, simply do not see it happening though. Brighton are a better team than that and the fact that might have been were anywhere close to the relegation zone was something of a surprise

 

Vlasic is very much a player in the Lingard mould, except that he's younger. He's an ACM primarily but he can play in the wings as well. Jesse in an ACM (can even play as an attacking 8 as a push) and he can play wide, particularly on the left.
So there are a few similarities there. Bottom line though, Moyes made it pretty clear this week that in the end, United (as Ole alluded to already this summer) never wanted to sell and Lingard himself didn't want to leave either.
The only way United would have been tempted to do so was if the price was right and WH were not ready to pay over a certain amount, one that clearly was not what they were looking for.

 

“I had pretty much written myself off. Suddenly I got a chance to hit that reset button.”@JesseLingard on his loan to @WestHam, his @ManUtd career and playing for @England.https://t.co/ZQlZxBPZQ8

— The Players' Tribune (@PlayersTribune) October 13, 2021

 

Contract talks between MUFC & Lingard have collapsed. No sign of a deal being reached. Lingard wants to leave, possibly as early as Jan. He's frustrated about his lack of game time this season. Several foreign teams have already declared an interest in himhttps://t.co/GFMlQTpVjq

— Paul Hirst (@hirstclass) November 18, 2021

What a screw up this situation has turned into. We were in a very good position to offload him this past summer, after a super productive loan stint with WH. Even if we couldn't get all that was desired, we were guaranteed to get a minimum for him at least.
After more BS promises this season (which were hard to deliver on as it it to begin with, due to the logjam for places in attack), Lingard has literally played more with England than he has with United in this campaign so far...
What's about to happen, either in Jan or next summer, was nothing more than a delay of what should have happened this past summer.