Manchester United ae safely through to the Europa League quarter-finals.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side enjoyed a 2-1 win over LASK Linz earlier this week, claiming their victory thanks to an 88th-minute Anthony Martial strike.
The result secured a 7-1 aggregate victory and ensures that the Red Devils will be playing in the last-eight of the competition.
They will play Copenhagen on Monday as they look to secure their second Europa League trophy, having also won the competition in 2016/17.
Of course, all of this is going on while the transfer window is open, and there have been plenty of reports surrounding their possible plans.
Much of it has centred on the possible acquisition of Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund but there is also the possibility of departures this summer.
United, after all, will need to make space available in their squad if they are to make major signings this summer.
And The Guardian reports that Jesse Lingard is a potential sacrificial lamb.
Manager Solskjaer is said to be a fan of the England international but he is deemed surplus to requirements.
Mason Greenwood, after all, has emerged as a genuine first-team star in recent months, scoring 17 senior goals this season, and offering a real option on the flanks.
Lingard, by comparison, has scored just four goals this term, though only one came in the league, in injury time of the final game of the season against Leicester City.
His contract runs until 2021 and Solskjaer is open to moving him on if the right bid is tabled; he is valued at £15.7 million by Transfermarkt.
GIVEMESPORT’S Harry Sherlock says…
Lingard isn’t very good.
At the age of 27, he simply hasn’t delivered on the potential he showed when he was younger, and this season has been yet more evidence that he may not have the talent required to make an impact at United.
He can play as an attacking midfielder or on either flank and has racked up 206 appearances for the Red Devils, but he has scored 33 goals and registered just 20 assists. That’s a rate of a goal every 0.1 games, or an assist every 0.09 games.
That kind of output just isn’t good enough for a club with aspirations of winning the Premier League or becoming champions in Europe.
With Sancho seemingly joining the club soon – he has scored 20 goals and registered 20 assists this season alone for Borussia Dortmund – it makes complete sense to send Lingard packing.
This is a shrewd move from Solskjaer.