Rangnick addresses Lingard speculation

The interim manager explained that he would be happy to keep Lingard as a key squad option if the England international chooses not to leave the club in January.

Lingard has made 14 appearances for United this season and provided a crucial late match-winning goal in September’s victory over West Ham United. Having started only two games, speculation around Jesse’s future has persisted through the winter window.

Rangnick addressed that in his pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday’s home fixture against West Ham.

“With regard to Jesse, it's the same as with quite a few other players,” Ralf said.

“He’s a really good player, I see that in every training session. For me it's normal that other clubs like, for example, Newcastle show interest in him.

“I'm not the one who is dealing with that. I know there might be some interest from other clubs but if you ask me now what will happen in the next 10 days until the closure of the window, I can't answer that question I’m afraid.”

Pressed on the matter further, Rangnick explained that the power to make the decision lies with the player himself.

“As I said, it’s also a question of what does the player want, what options does he really have? Does he see a chance to get more game time? Those are all questions that I cannot answer for him or for other players,” the German coach said.

“This is something that has to be done by the players and their agents themselves. What I can say is he’s a very good player, a technical player and of course he can play for many Premier League clubs on a regular basis.

“Here at Manchester United it is not so easy as we have other players who can also play in that position and we can't change from one game to the other five or six positions.

“As I said, for him, I know his contract is expiring in the summer but the question is what does he want to do? Does he want to get more gametime from now on?

“Therefore, it’s quite legitimate to speak about other options, but I wouldn't be unhappy if he stayed until the rest of season. I know he is a player who can always play, even if we need to play him from the start. I know what kind of level I will get from him. That’s how I would describe the situation.”