A former Red Devil man believes the England international must leave Old Trafford to rediscover his best form
Jesse Lingard has “time up” at Manchester United, according to Dimitar Berbatov, who says Ole Gunnar Solskjaer no longer trusts the midfielder.
Lingard only got his third look of the season for United on Saturday, after extending his current contract at Old Trafford to 2022 at the end of December.
The 28-year-old played 80 minutes of victory in the third round of the FA Cup 1-0 against Watford before being relegated for Nemanja Matic, but is likely to have fallen again when Solskjaer’s side are caught Burnley at Turf Moor in the Premier League on Tuesday.
It has been said that the Red Devils only gave Lingard an update so he would not lose for free in the summer, with rumors linking him with a raging move away from Manchester now that the winter transfer window is open.
Berbatov believes Solskjaer has already seen England’s international surplus to requirements, and his team-mate can’t see his turn at the Theater of Dreams turning around after such a long fall down the squad packing order.
“Honestly, his time is up. He’s not playing. He had the chances to shine, to prove how good he is, how good he can be,” he said. the former United striker. Astro Stadium.
“It shows, for now, that Ole doesn’t trust him enough to play. And honestly, he doesn’t have a place to play in the team right now.
“So when you’ve been in one team for so long, come to 28 [years old], you have to look back and say, ‘Have I achieved enough? Am I happy with what I’ve done here? Do I have time up? ‘
“So I think he has to move, he has to go somewhere else to play.
“He’s going to be a smaller team than United, but as long as he gets more playing time to get back to doing what he can. I remember starting for England and getting a visit for England.
“But now that’s gone in my opinion and it needs to rediscover some of the form it used to have.”
Michael Owen, who also played for Lingard at Old Trafford, shared Berbatov ‘s feelings, adding that the player is not in the position he should be after so many years in the senior team. .
“He came through the stages when Berba and I were in the team, we saw his development, and he’s got to the stage now where he’s a little older and he should be play regularly in a team now at an old age, “the ex – Red Devils forward added.
“And he’s been at Manchester United all that time so he knows what it’s like to be a Manchester United player. Now it’s the decision of his life, professional career decision: ‘Do I want to stay as a part-time player at one of the biggest teams in the world, or do I want to let him down, playing regularly but I don’t have as much opportunity? nothing to gain? ‘
“And that’s the balancing act. If it was me, and if I had been at Manchester United, I might have tried to play a little more consistently.”