Lingard: 'Man Utd only gave me false promises'

"I don't know why I didn't play," Lingard said of his final year at Man Utd. "I don't know what the problem is, and I still don't have an answer. I want someone to tell me the reason why I can't play, because of the respect I have earned through my time with the club. But I've never had that."

In the second half of the 2020-2021 season, when playing for West Ham on loan, Lingard flourished when he scored nine and assisted five goals in 16 matches. Lingard is committed to being valued when he returns to Man Utd in the summer of 2021. But under Solskjaer and Rangnick respectively, the 30-year-old midfielder is still unable to compete for the official position, scoring twice in 22 matches in all competitions, with 548 minutes on the field. "Those are false promises," Lingard added. "I trained hard, was very sharp, and knew I was ready."

Lingard joined Man Utd at the age of seven and said scoring his first goal for the club in 2015 was a "dream come true". In total, he scored 35 goals in 232 appearances, winning an FA Cup, a League Cup, an English Super Cup and a Europa League.

After the end of his contract with Man Utd in the summer of 2022, the 30-year-old player joined rookie Nottingham Forest on a free form with a weekly salary of $ 263,000. Today, Lingard returns to Old Trafford as an opponent. "This is an opportunity to say goodbye because I never really got to. It was an interesting game, but we wanted to win. You can't get too caught up in the emotions," Lingard said of goal with Nottingham Forest.

When he first arrived at Nottingham Forest, Lingard expected to spend his second World Cup, after joining England in the semi-finals of 2018. But poor form at the beginning of the season and a heel injury prevented Lingard from being summoned by coach Gareth Southgate. train to Qatar.

Lingard is gradually improving his form. He scored his first goal for Nottingham Forest just before the 2022 World Cup, in a 2-0 League Cup win over Tottenham. Lingard continued to shoot in last week's 4-1 win over Blackburn, to send Nottingham Forest into the quarter-finals against Wolves.

Lingard said a heel problem kept him from being at his best during the first half of the season, and feels better after the break. "I couldn't sprint properly," he said. "Now I'm recovered and sharp again. Against Tottenham, that's where you see my best form, with fighting spirit, constant pressure and tackles."

But Lingard admits his injury recovery is nothing compared to the mental health problems he has experienced, which has gradually stabilized thanks to the first round of Covid-19 burns in early 2020. He said: "I felt like renewing myself, having faith in myself again. I didn't want to give up football, but wanted to take a proper break. The break in the season saved my career. At that time, I've looked back at the goals I've scored, and I've found the fire again. Now I'm happy and that's the most important thing in football. I feel free."

Dean Henderson is another player on the staff of Man Utd last season who plays for Nottingham Forest. But the English goalkeeper today cannot play today because of the terms of his loan agreement.