MANCHESTER UNITED outcast Jesse Lingard is reportedly only prepared to leave the club on loan as he approaches the end of his contract at Old Trafford.
The 29-year-old has been heavily linked with a switch to join Newcastle this month, though the player doesn’t want to join on a permanent basis.
According to the Manchester Evening News, the Magpies are keen on luring the England international to St James’ Park before the end of the winter transfer window.
But while the player is open to a loan move, he knows he will have plenty of offers should he run his contract down at the Theatre of Dreams.
The news outlet also states how Lingard plans to assess his future at the end of the campaign where he can take his time on deciding his next permanent club.
United however are desperate to sell the England star in a cut-price deal to avoid losing him for nothing in the summer.
Lingard enjoyed a hugely successful loan spell at West Ham last season after joining in January 2021.
He chipped in with an impressive five goals and nine assists in 16 top-flight outings.
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Though his dazzling form failed to convince former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer that he warranted a place in his team.
And now interim boss Ralf Rangnick has also barely used the versatile forward since he succeeded Solskjaer in December.
In total, Lingard has been restricted to just nine Premier League games this term – totalling just 88 minutes of action.
His last appearance came in the 2-2 draw away at Aston Villa earlier this month where he played just one minute in what is his only league outing under Rangnick.
The German gaffer recently confirmed that Newcastle were in the running to sign Lingard as he declared he cannot offer him regular game time.
He said: “Regarding Jesse, it’s the same as quite a few other players, he’s a really good player, it’s normal at other clubs, Newcastle showed interest in him but I am not the one dealing with that.
“If you ask me now what will happen in the next 10 days I cannot answer that question, I’m afraid.
“As I said, it’s the question of what does the player want, what other options does he have, does he have the chance to get game time, I cannot answer for him, it has to be done by the players.
“He’s a very good player, a technical player. Here at Manchester United it’s not so easy, we have other players who can play in that position and we cannot change from one game to another five or six positions.”
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