Jesse Lingard has “come a little unstuck” at Manchester United, says Dwight Yorke, with the out-of-sorts playmaker told the time has come for him to “look elsewhere” in the next transfer window.
The Old Trafford academy graduate has found himself slipping down the pecking order in 2019-20. Much has been made of his lack of end product over the course of the last 18 months, with goals and assists proving to be in short supply.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has countered those creative deficiencies by drafting in Bruno Fernandes and handing more prominent roles to the likes of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.
The hope is that Paul Pogba will also start to deliver the consistency expected of him, meaning that there is no place for Lingard in the bigger picture.
This not the first time that the England international has generated exit talk, but a change of scenery could now be on the cards. Lingard has already moved to bring in Mino Raiola as his agent, in what is considered another nod towards a move elsewhere, and Yorke believes a fresh start could prove beneficial to all concerned.
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The former United striker told Stadium Astro on the back of seeing Lingard get a rare start against Norwich in the FA Cup quarter-finals, but last just 63 minutes: “The jury’s still out.
“We had a lot of hopes, he came through the ranks and we love that. He knows the club through and through, he loves the football club and we thought he was going to go on where Rashford is at the moment.
“He’s come a little unstuck at the moment and he has to find another gear somewhere along the line. At the moment, it’s just not happening.
“At 27 years of age, you ought to be a bit regular. If it’s not happening, maybe he has to look elsewhere. But for now, he’s still got some games and he’s still got to prove himself.
“ I think there is a little bit of a question mark over his name at the moment for sure, he’s fully aware of that, there’s no two ways about that. He knows that he’s not in the team and he needs to do more to get back in.”
Solskjaer has remained coy when quizzed on Lingard’s future of late, with the United boss neither stating his full commitment to the 27-year-old nor saying he can leave.