Manchester United Transfer News: Jesse Lingard Reveals He Snubbed Liverpool

Manchester United’s Jesse Lingard is the darling of Old Trafford at the moment, but his reputation is likely to be given a further boost among Red Devils supporters after revealing he rejected the chance to join Liverpool.

After trying to break into Louis van Gaal’s first team for a while, Lingard is enjoying his finest run of form in a United shirt, scoring his first goal for the club last time out and being called up to the England national team for the first time, per BBC Sport. But the wide player insisted his career could have potentially gone a different path.

“I was at a local club Penketh United and Mike Glennie, a Manchester United scout, came to watch me,” said Lingard, per Stuart Mathieson of the Manchester Evening News. “He spoke to my grandad and offered me trials, but there was also interest from Liverpool and I had to pick. I was only young but obviously my heart was with United at the time.”

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There will have been times when Lingard wondered whether or not he made the right choice. Now 22 years old, the forward would have hoped to have made much more of an impression on the Red Devils first team than he has done currently, having been loaned out to the likes of Brighton & Hove Albion and Derby County to try to get first-team experience.

However, for the Warrington-born star, things seem to finally be coming together at Old Trafford, with a string of strong performances. Here’s a closer look at how he’s fared in recent outings, per Sky Sports News HQ:

Lingard deserves some credit for sticking it out at United and not pushing for a move elsewhere. For a player who will turn 23 this year, he could have easily upped sticks to another, less illustrious club in search of more minutes. But he’s clearly impressed Van Gaal with his desire to represent United and is now reaping the rewards of his endeavour.

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Bleacher Report’s Rob Blanchette feels as though the academy graduate is a player who embodies the style United should be playing:

Pace, trickery and an eye for goal, all the tools are in place for Lingard to go far in the game. 

Despite the rivalry between the two north-west clubs, the chance to join the Merseysiders would have been too good an opportunity to turn away for someone desperate to have a career as a professional; Lingard will be thankful United came in when they did.