JESSE LINGARD has furiously denied claims by boss Ralf Rangnick that he asked for time off from Manchester United.
The star, who becomes a free agent in June, was denied a deadline day move to either Newcastle or West Ham by the club despite snubbing a new deal.
He has only played 88 minutes of Premier League action this term but could have been set for a rare run-out on Friday in the FA Cup against Middlesbrough.
That was until interim United boss Rangnick announced the midfielder is not available for selection due to having a request for time off to ‘clear his mind’ granted.
That has led to a furious response from Lingard tonight on Twitter denying those claims.
The England international blasted: “The club advised me to have time off due to personal reasons!
“But my headspace is clear and I’ll always be professional when called upon and give 100 percent.”
Rangnick had claimed: “Jesse asked if we could give him a couple of days off to clear his mind. He will be back in training on Monday and part of the whole squad.”
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The United boss also said that striker Edinson Cavani has had a request for the weekend off granted aswell.
It comes after Red Devils legend Gary Neville blasted his former employers for allowing stars to take time off.
He tweeted: “Sue wanted a day off, Alan took a holiday, John was ill, Barry handed his notice in, Clive said he might be there and Barbara will be on the minutes!”
The fall-out with Lingard comes just weeks after Rangnick and Anthony Martial, who has since headed to Sevilla on loan, had an embarrassing spat.
Rangnick claimed that Martial refused to be part of United’s squad for the draw with Aston Villa last month.
The player subsequently denied he had refused to play stating on his social media site: “I will never refuse to play a match for Man United.
“I’ve been here for seven years and I never disrespected and never will disrespect the club and the fans.”
Rangnick refused to change his stance afterwards, reiterating that the forward did not want to be involved.
He said: “All the things that needed to be said I said after the press conference.
“I had a conversation with him on Sunday, a personal conversation with him about what happened and how I saw the whole situation. The matter is now resolved.”
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