Newcastle United the favorite to sign Manchester United midfielder

Newcastle United are Sky Bet favorites (odds 7/1) to sign Manchester United attacking midfielder, Jesse Lingard. If this were 2016, then I’d be all for the move. I was interested in Jesse Lingard back when the club were interested in signing him as a 23 year old who was upset over his playing time at Old Trafford. Back then, he would have been cheaper, now it appears that the club will have to pay more for a player who would be competing with mainstays such as Jonjo Shelvey and Miguel Almiron.

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is completely prepared and willing to let Jesse Lingard move this summer, and is willing to listen to Newcastle United’s offer. Newcastle United would likely have to pay more than 20 million pounds for the midfielder/winger, which would deplete much of what the club is looking to spend on targets for left-back, right-back, as well as striker.

Newcastle United is still in the middle of a contract standoff with standout midfielder Matty Longstaff. That has brought a great deal of concern to management and fans alike, who believe that their homegrown star is about to leave. Newcastle United could simply be looking for a possible replacement to Matty, and I can’t blame them if this is simply a matter of the club being forward-looking. However, Lingard’s contract would be around the amount that Matty is looking to receive from Newcastle, so why the club has refused to pay up continues to baffle me to this day.

Bryan’s Take:

I like Lingard, and I like his game. He’s gotten his fair share of England call ups, and I believe he’d be a good complement to Newcastle’s already solid midfield lineup. The only issue is I find him to be surplus to what the club already has. He won’t be able to backup Isaac Hayden he’s injured, and Matty Longstaff already does almost the same things Lingard does, but he’s younger and has more upside.

The club should be focusing on bolstering its defense, as well as finding a better striker than the current options of Dwight Gayle, Joelinton, and Andy Carroll. These are issues that need to be immediately addressed. Not if the club wants another midfielder.

Any team who signs Lingard should definitely start him, as he’s a worthy midfield option and provides quality control on the ball. Newcastle United already has that. There are glaring gaps in the club’s lineup, and Lingard isn’t going to solve those problems, he’s just going to eat away at the money that could.