Lingard's message to Solskjaer amid uncertainty over Man Utd future

Jesse Lingard sent a message to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer amid uncertainty over his Manchester United future.

The midfielder scored the winning goal against former club West Ham on Sunday, who wanted to bring Lingard back on a permanent basis during the summer transfer window, having spent the second half of last season on loan at the London Stadium.

He returned there for a thrilling Premier League encounter which he entered as a substitute in the 73rd minute with the scores at 1-1, after Cristiano Ronaldo had cancelled out Said Benrahma's deflected first-half opener.

Picking up fellow sub Nemanja Matic's pass, Lingard blasted a shot past Lukasz Fabianski and gave his current club all three points against the Irons.

But his future is still undecided, with just nine months left on his contract.

( Image:

Action Images via Reuters)

Solskjaer, who wanted to keep Lingard at Old Trafford rather than him return to the capital, was full of praise for the 28-year-old following his impact off the bench and confirmed he will play when the teams meet again in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.

"I think today was a good answer!" the Red Devils manager responded when asked why Lingard remained in his squad. "Jesse was quite clear he wants to fight for his place and be part of a Man United team that is going places.

"I can't speak for Jesse now but he's really contributing, he'll play on Wednesday as I'll make a few changes. So pleased he handles the highs and lows really well. He's becoming a grown man and is a very good player."

Manchester United's Jesse Lingard celebrates scoring with Cristiano Ronaldo ( Image:

Mike Egerton/PA Wire)

How should Lingard feature on Wednesday? Give us your starting XI here.

"As I've said, I'm very happy with the squad, we have to be good at rotating, finding the right moment to rest players. It's going to be a long, hard season."

He also told MUTV: "I'm so happy for him because you know it's ups and downs in football. He was low on Tuesday [having made an error which led to their Champions League defeat to Young Boys], now high again, he scored against Newcastle, you're up, you're down, you're up - but that's football.

"You have to live with it and Jesse has learned how to deal with ups and downs in football. You know, if you play for Man United you have to live with it, be able to handle that scrutiny.

Solskjaer continued: "Don't worry about it because what we have to worry about is ourselves, what we do, what we say. We're a group, we're together, we work together, stick together through thick and thin. That's never going to be any different. This is a family.

"It was a great goal. Of course, he had a tough evening on Tuesday but he's knuckled down and worked hard again," he added.

"He's been the same bright, positive lad and what a goal. A great pass by Nemanja, a good turn by Jesse and a great goal."

On his teams' performance on the whole, the United boss claimed: "We deserved to win.

"I think we created some big chances, we had pressure on them, should have had a few penalties, great response when they scored, good attitude, very good away performance in a difficult cauldron; the stadium is hard here!"