JAKARTA - England coach Gareth Southgate has backed Jesse Lingard to compete with superstar Cristiano Ronaldo for regular playing time at Manchester United.
Lingard himself struggled to get a place in the Red Devils' core squad in the 2020/21 season so he was loaned to West Ham United.
The 28-year-old has finally returned to Old Trafford for the 2021-22 season after West Ham did not make him permanent in the transfer market this summer.
Lingard, who scored twice in England's last World Cup qualifier against Andorra, will find it increasingly difficult to find regular playing time at United with Ronaldo's return.
Lingard has only played four minutes in the Premier League this season but after becoming a star for the national team, Southgate believes the player will get more opportunities.
"It's a situation we've had with different players in our long time with England," Southgate told reporters after the game, as quoted by The Times on Monday.
Feels good to be back ❤️ #Jlingz pic.twitter.com/fFa9SNrpEL
— Jesse Lingard (@JesseLingard) August 31, 2021
"Recently, the number of England players in the (domestic) league was quite low, and we had to pick players who were not regular in their team or on loan. We once picked Mason (Mount) from the Championship, so we had to be creative.
"We know Jesse has a challenge and he knows he has a big challenge with the quality of the attacking players at United. However, they also have a lot of games in different competitions, so hopefully he can accept the challenge.
"He has come back brilliantly in the last 12 months from a difficult period, and he has shown that he has quality.
"I know I've been criticized for bringing him into the squad, but he's a player who has always played well for us," Southgate continued.
"He always poses a threat in front of goal. When we asked him to play wide, we knew he would.
"He has very good intelligence and works hard off the ball and signs well."
Lingard has so far made 211 appearances for United in various competitions, contributing 33 goals.
Jesse Lingard imitates Cristiano Ronaldo's signature celebrationHe recently also stole the show after imitating Cristiano Ronaldo's "Siu" celebration when he scored in the match against Andora.
Jesse Lingard performed brilliantly in the match scoring twice (18', 78') to help England win a landslide victory 4-0.
Lingard himself admitted that he had planned to imitate Ronaldo's goal celebration if he managed to score against Andorra.
welcome home @Cristiano ❤️ pic.twitter.com/jrCnGsv8oD
— Jesse Lingard (@JesseLingard) August 27, 2021
"Me and Mason Mount have been thinking about celebrating a goal for this match. We chose to combine my goal celebration with Ronaldo," Lingard was quoted as saying on the beIN Sports website.
"At that time, I promised to celebrate Ronaldo if he scored a goal.
"This celebration is a small gift to welcome Ronaldo. I'm sure Ronaldo will adapt quickly and help Man United a lot this season," added the 28-year-old player.
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