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Published 14:24 19 Nov 2021 GMT
Updated 14:30 19 Nov 2021 GMT
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Lingard has found playing time hard to come by, despite the team's poor recent form and scoring twice when coming on as a substitute.
Solskjaer would possibly argue that he has several players currently ahead of the attacking midfielder, such as Bruno Fernandes, Cristiano Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani, Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood.
Lingard, however, has reportedly grown tired of the situation and wants to kickstart his career elsewhere.
His representatives are said to have already held talks with an unnamed overseas club. The Times also report that he is open to leaving the club on loan in January and seeing out the final six months of his contract away from Old Trafford.
Surely, the smart move was to leverage West Ham's interest in Lingard to try to complete a move for Declan Rice, a player Solskjaer have reportedly identified as a long-term target.
Even if that transfer was too difficult to complete, they could have banked the money from Lingard's sale and put it towards solving problem positions in Solskjaer's messy squad.
Instead, they reportedly rejected approaches from six clubs for Lingard and now could lose him for nothing.
Man United may not have received a suitable offer last summer. But, at this juncture, any offer is better than losing him for nothing. Ultimately, rather than act, they sat on their hands.
Meanwhile, Man United signed Cristiano Ronaldo, a player who thrives off crosses into the box. Yet, to accommodate Ronaldo, United sold James, their only natural winger and the forward player most likely to deliver those crosses. And they retained Lingard, their most salable asset last summer and player without an obvious starting position in the team.
The England midfielder was prevented from moving only to decide he wants to leave because the playing time promised to him hadn't been met. How does the player who was sold end up starting two games ahead of the player who the club fought to keep? It is baffling.
Meanwhile, last summer, Man United had a coveted asset and other areas in the squad that needed addressing. Rather than being proactive and aggressively using their resources to build a squad capable of winning major trophies, they opted for the lazy option.
The Lingard episode offers insight into how and why the club is currently floundering on and off the pitch.
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