Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has labelled reported Tottenham and West Ham target Jesse Lingard as a ‘really good player’, as he told Super Sunday Matchday on Sky Sports (17/01/20 at 11:25 am).
The current Premier League leader shared that Lingard, who has only played 179 minutes of football this term, ‘wants to play football’ amid rumours that the likes of Tottenham and West Ham are interested in his services.
ESPN claim that Spurs have registered their interest in the 28-year-old attacker, who worked with Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford, whilst the Star have reported that West Ham have been in touch with Lingard’s representatives.
Solskjaer shared his thoughts on Lingard’s future and revealed that he is in regular contact with the player.
“Jesse is part of our group,” said Solskjaer. “We have not seen the best of Jesse. We haven’t 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.
“He has worked really hard in training and ready for his chances when it comes. And we just take it from there.
“I cannot really speak for Jesse [in regards to his future] and what we have spoken about. But Jesse is, of course, one that wants to play football. He’s a really good player when he plays football at his best. Let’s see what will happen.”
Lingard needs to revive his career because ever since the 2018 World Cup, he has gone backwards and there aren’t any signs that he will get back to his best.
Tottenham have their own problem in Dele Alli, who just like Lingard, has also stagnated since that World Cup in Russia, so it will be interesting to see if Spurs really want to push for his signature.
But Lingard has worked under both David Moyes and Mourinho, so both understand his game, the latter more so and in that sense, it would be a smart move from his perspective. But will the fans welcome him with open arms?
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