Rangnick explains why Man Utd denied Lingard January move
Martin Macdonald
- 3 Feb 2022 16:20 GMT
- 3 min read
Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick has revealed that the club ultimately did not let Jesse Lingard leave in the January transfer window as no agreement could be reached with any of the player's suitors.
After failing to earn a single minute of Premier League playing time in the first half of last season, Lingard was sent out on loan to West Ham, where he flourished in the final six months of the campaign.
He returned to Man Utd in the summer after being given assurances over his playing time by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
When Solskjaer failed to live up to those promises, Lingard became linked with another move away before his contract expires in June.
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Newcastle and West Ham were both desperate to bring him in during the recently closed window, but Man Utd priced both clubs out of negotiations.
Rangnick has explained the reasoning for the decision to keep Lingard.
"Three weeks ago, Jesse didn't want to leave, then he changed his mind, I had a chat with him 10 days ago and I could fully understand why he wanted to leave to get game time for his future and the World Cup and I told him if he finds a club and the club find a solution with our club I would allow him to leave," he said at a press conference on Thursday.
"But with all the developments, things changed, we also had no agreement with any other club so we had to take a final decision as the board and keep Jesse until the end of the season."
Greenwood impacts Lingard
At the moment, Mason Greenwood is not part of the Man Utd squad and will not be for the foreseeable future after being arrested on suspicion of assault and rape.
Rangnick admits that the situation with Greenwood also played a part in the club's decision to keep Lingard at Old Trafford.
"In a way, yes, but the club told me, the board told me, they couldn't find an agreement with any clubs interested in him," Rangnick said when asked if Greenwood impacted the Lingard transfer decision.
"With the window closing Monday evening the board informed me they would rather he stay, so I could understand and accept. It was two things.
"We had a problem with Mason Greenwood and being without a player for the time being who hasn't played in weeks and the club not finding an agreement with another club."
