Jesse Lingard is making his return to Old Trafford that bit more interesting, proclaiming that Manchester United delivered ‘false promises’ during his time there. After spending more than 20 years at Manchester United, Lingard signed with Nottingham Forest after his contract with the Red Devils expired. Forest will travel to Manchester to face United on Tuesday.
While it would still be an emotional day for Lingard, he has made some interesting comments about his former club. The midfielder has hinted that United made “false promises” to him during his last season in Manchester. Lingard made just 16 Premier League appearances last season for the Red Devils.
The player still does not know why United prevented his chances
“I don’t know why I wasn’t playing, I don’t know what the problem was, if it was politics or whatever,” Lingard told The Telegraph. “I still don’t have an answer to this day.”
“I would prefer someone out of respect for me to tell me ‘that’s why you don’t play’, but I never got it. They were false promises. He was training hard and he was ready, he was ready to play those games. When you’re working hard in training and you don’t play at the end, it’s very frustrating.”
These promises were made by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The former Manchester United manager reportedly assured Lingard that he would get plenty of playing time. Ahead of 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 start running like I did at West Ham, but sometimes I don’t,” Lingard continued. “I didn’t have a proper preseason and I had a problem with my Achilles tendon because I was training alone. [before the move]. I was trying to get through the games and I wasn’t feeling 100 percent, but I still wanted to fight for my team.”
Lingard suffers from false promises at United
However, Solkjaer never gave Lingard a place in his starting eleven that season. The Norwegian was sacked at the end of November 2021 and replaced by Ralf Rangnick. Lingard’s playing time did not increase under Rangnick either. In fact, he only made two Premier League starts during the entire 2021/22 campaign.
Lingard will now face his former club for the first time since he left last summer. He will no doubt be hoping to show United what he may have been missing.
PHOTO: IMAGO / Sportimage
