Manchester United are “petrified” of losing Jesse Lingard to another Premier League club, with a proposed loan move to Newcastle collapsing following demands on a £12m survival payment.
We saw Lingard’s impact at West Ham last season, but the midfielder decided to come to back in the summer. The England international will be a free agent in the summer, though he will want more game time in order to impress Gareth Southgate ahead of the World Cup.
According to the Mirror, Newcastle are unwilling to agree to the survival bonus, on top of a loan fee worth £2.5m and payment of Lingard’s £100,000-a-week wages in full.
“United are petrified of Jesse going elsewhere, playing really well and showing them up,” a source told the newspaper.
“They don’t want a repeat of what happened at West Ham last season, where he almost helped get them into the Champions League with the goals he scored.
“Jesse’s popular with the United players and they feel for him. The way the club are treating Jesse, given how long he’s been at United, is sending out the wrong message to the rest of the squad.
“It says everything about the current state of United that Jesse wants to go to play for a club near the bottom of the Premier League, rather than stay where he is.”
As a result, it doesn’t look like Lingard will be joining the Toon this month.
It is noted that Lingard’s representatives are furious with United for pricing him out of a move, but I guess that is what happens when a player is under contract. They must respect that.
Unfortunately for Lingard, who doesn’t get much of a look in at United these days, this could destroy his chances of making the England squad for the World Cup later this year.
The report adds that Marcus Rashford is unhappy about how the club have handled the situation with his team-mate.
