Jesse Lingard is making his return to Old Trafford a bit more interesting, proclaiming Manchester United delivered ‘false promises’ during his time there. After spending over 20 years at Manchester United, Lingard signed with Nottingham Forest after his contract expired with the Red Devils. Forest travel to Manchester to face United on Tuesday.
While it would be an emotional day for Lingard anyway, he has made some interesting comments about his former club. The midfielder suggested United gave him “false promises” during his last season in Manchester. Lingard made just 16 total Premier League appearances last campaign for the Red Devils.
Player still doesn’t know why United prevented his chances
“I don’t know why I wasn’t playing, don’t know what the problem was, whether it was politics or whatever,” Lingard told The Telegraph. “I still haven’t got an answer to this day.”
“I’d rather that someone out of respect for me being there that long told me ‘this is why you’re not playing’, but I never got that. It was false promises. I was training hard and I was sharp, I was ready to play them games. When you’re working hard in training and don’t play at the end of it, it’s very frustrating.”
These promises were made by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The former Manchester United manager supposedly gave Lingard assurances that he would be given ample playing time. Prior to the 2021/22 campaign, the midfielder completed a successful season on loan at West Ham. Lingard scored nine goals in just 16 Premier League appearances for the Hammers.
“People wanted me to hit the ground running like I did at West Ham, but it’s not sometimes like that,” Lingard continued. “I didn’t have a proper preseason and had a problem with my Achilles as I was training on my own [before the move]. I was trying to get through games and not feeling 100 per cent, but I still wanted to fight for my team.”
Lingard suffers from false promises at United
Nevertheless, Solkjaer never gave Lingard a place in his starting XI that season. The Norwegian was fired in late November of 2021 and replaced with Ralf Rangnick. Lingard’s playing time did not increase under Rangnick either. In fact, he made just two Premier League starts during the entire 2021/22 campaign.
Lingard will now face is former club for the first time since departing this past summer. He will certainly hope to show United what they may have missed out on.
PHOTO: IMAGO / Sportimage
