Sky Sports reporter Michael Bridge has praised the character that Jesse Lingard has shown at Manchester United this season.
The 28-year-old has found game time hard to come by in the opening months of the campaign, but has still managed to show moments of quality when he has got on the pitch.
How has Lingard's season gone so far?
Lingard has not started a single Premier League match this term, and has been restricted to just 55 minutes of top-flight action.
He has scored two goals in this time, though, including a spectacular winning goal against his former club West Ham last month.
The 32-cap international also made a telling contribution in the Champions League in September, coming off the bench to set up Cristiano Ronaldo's last-minute winner against Villarreal.
Despite delivering the goods in these crucial moments, he has still been largely overlooked by United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in recent weeks, as he has been an unused substitute in three of the side's last four league games.
What has Bridge said about Lingard?
Bridge appreciates Lingard's drive to always make the most of his limited opportunities, and has claimed that he is a player that any side would want when they are going through a tough time.
Speaking about the attacking midfielder, Bridge told GIVEMESPORT: “His character is to be admired as well. He made that mistake in the Champions League the other week, three days later, he goes to West Ham which is obviously strange for him anyway, and scores a belting winning goal. You’d want him in the trenches, I’d say.”
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Should Lingard be getting more chances to play at Man United?
United have a wealth of attacking talent, so it is not a major surprise that Lingard, who Transfermarkt value at £19.8m, is struggling to get minutes under his belt this season.
However, the side are consistently underperfoming at the moment. They reached a new low when they were thrashed 5-0 by Liverpool at Old Trafford yesterday afternoon. Meanwhile, Lingard could only watch on from the sidelines, as Solskjaer snubbed him yet again.
On the pitch, United were largely the makers of their own downfall, trying to press Liverpool, but ultimately falling well short as Jurgen Klopp's men played out from the back with ease.
It seems that the Red Devils want to be a front foot side who win the ball back high up the pitch, but their starting forwards are incapable of doing that. The likes of Mason Greenwood, Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford all looked lost when they were out of possession on Sunday.
If Solskjaer wants to stick with this approach, then he should seriously consider using Lingard more. He has shown over the years that he does know how to press from the front, and is happy to do the hard yards for the team, and this is just what United need if they are going to get back to somewhere near their best over the coming weeks.
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