Nice president breaks silence on Jesse Lingard links

Jean-Pierre Rivere, president of Ligue 1 side Nice has spoken out about the recent rumours linking them with Manchester United’s Jesse Lingard.

Lingard, 28, has spent his entire professional career with United after joining their youth academy all the way back in 2000.

However, despite a career spanning over two decades, Lingard’s time at Old Trafford looks unsettled, to say the least.

A clear restriction in first-team playing time has seen the English midfielder feature just three-times this season, none of which have come in the Premier League.

A recent report from Sky Sports claimed that Lingard’s representatives were in discussions with Nice over a possible loan move.

However, according to the club’s president Rivere those reports may have been somewhat wide of the mark and the French side are not expecting to do anymore business during the January window.

Reporting in their written publication, Nice Martin covered an exclusive interview with Rivere who, when asked about the links with Lingard, as quoted by Sports Witness, said: “We have seen a lot of names appear in the press without any merit.

“Our goal is to get our entire squad back together and we all aim to have a good second part of the season.

“No, that won’t be the case [expecting a big transfer in the winter market]. The context is totally inappropriate.

“We know that the winter transfer window is very special and difficult. We had the opportunity to bring in William Saliba and we are delighted.”

Earlier this month the Telegraph claimed that Solskjaer still views Lingard as an integral part of his squad’s options and will not actively looking to offload the 28-year-old.

Read more: Man United predicted line-up vs Liverpool: Solskjaer goes full strength to retain top-spot

More Stories Jesse Lingard Manchester United nice