It's no problem to be unemployed, Lin Huang is not in a hurry!There is no shortage of ** Lingard is still waiting for the team that suits him.
Today is Lingard's birthday. He is 31 years old today. At this stage of his life, he has to realise that as a player who plays without the ball, it is not easy to change some of his mindsets. At least for his current form, it does.
If you talk to Lingard's former team-mates, you'll see that Lingard can be a popular player at all clubs. The quality of his game, including his outstanding performances in the World Cup semi-finals, has earned him the respect of other professional players.
But Lingard also faces a harsh reality that everyone else knows – he's still not in any team for what he has achieved, and he doesn't seem to be as bothered by these things as you might think.
Jesse Lingard's last competitive match was in April this year, when he played for Nottingham Forest against his former club Manchester United, and he came on as a two-minute substitute. His most recent Premier League full game was back in August 2022. Going back a little further, you have to go back more than 15 months to find another game like this, when Jesse Lingard was loaned to West Ham by Manchester United.
Since then, it has been largely a period of uncertainty for a player who has made 32 previous appearances for England. Since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement, Jesse Lingard has indeed contributed to some of United's highlights, including scoring the winning goal in the 2016 FA Cup final. But some annoying injuries and some personal problems have always been with Lingard, and his undoubted talent is like a meteor in the sky, always flashing away.
Moreover, it has only been just over two years since he last played for England. The former Lin Huang now lives a completely different life from a professional player: going out alone with the ball, rather than hiring a personal trainer to stay in shape.
Owen experienced something similar when he left Manchester United at the end of the 2011-12 season. It's clear that a player who was once full of accolades and has the wealth and material base to match his superstar status may be forced to reassess his place in the sport.
Owen, like Lingard at the time, was in his early 30s. As a former Ballon d'Or winner, he has clearly experienced more of his highlights, but age is also starting to become the worst enemy of his playing career. And, although neither of them could end up in the slums, it was not easy to try to make changes when their lives began to change and at the same time the sport was gradually abandoning them.
Irving was a bit older at the time, and his value was a bit high relative to his age, which was not very cost-effective for those top teams. During that long and challenging summer, he even considered giving up football for a career in horse racing, which he was passionate about.
In his 2019 autobiography, Owen wrote: "I did receive a few inquiries from overseas – one of them was the Vancouver White Wave in Canada and the other was the Newcastle Jets from Australia. When I considered the possibility of moving to either club, neither seemed particularly appealing to me. ”
Other than that, Stoke City are the only Premier League side to have shown a real interest in Owen, and if you remember their tactics under Tony Pulis, it always seems a little strange to imagine having a striker of Owen's stature and skill in attack. Owen had his own doubts about this, but ultimately opted to join Stoke City because the alternative would mean he would be out of work for more than six months – exactly what Lingard is experiencing right now.
I didn't really feel anything. Owen added, "When I first signed with Liverpool, I couldn't even write my name with excitement. The same applies to Real Madrid and Manchester United. But I must admit that when I signed for Stoke City, I didn't feel excited at all. It was just a job for me, and I chose to sign only because it was the right decision for me at the time. Is there any other option for me?”
Ever since Jesse Lingard started training alone at Manchester United's North Road Stadium in Newton Heath, Manchester, he must have asked himself this question many times: sweat it out after training and upload it to his social channels with trendy phrases like "keep trying" or "keep a positive mindset and keep improving".
In a recent post, he wrote: "Even the toughest days will eventually pass, we just need to stay positive and optimistic. ”
Presumably, Lingard's move is intended to show potential teams ready to sign him how hard he works, how committed he is to the sport, and that he is ready to take on a new challenge, no matter what anyone says. In another recent post, he wrote: "Drive, desire and love for the game", which seems to reveal his determination to join the MLS.
Unfortunately for Lingard, the MLS season will not start until February. Nothing seems to have been resolved, and the football industry has been so cold and brutal over the past six months that many have questioned whether Lingard will still make football his first choice for his future career. One wonders why a player as capable as him would lose his jobDoesn't he care about the current situation?Doesn't that hurt his self-esteem?Because no one wants to be a professional player who doesn't have a ball to play, does it?
These problems are understandable, because no matter how glamorous Lingard may be on the surface, it is not normal for a professional player to be without a ball for six months or more.
But here we also need to consider the context in which these kinds of issues arise, and if we have to find out how Lingard's situation is different, the nature of modern football may allow us to see more of this happening in the future.
Lingard has a wealth that ordinary people can't reach. Based on where he stands, it doesn't seem like he has to rush to make a decision about his next move.
According to people familiar with the matter, Lingard has been slow to sign because no team has proposed to him, nor because Lingard has overestimated his own ability. He's more of a transfer waiting for the best fit for him than being forced or under some pressure to accept anything.
After all, that's exactly what Owen once experienced in Stoke City. The result?Not at all surprising, Owen is not the big man that manager Pulis loves, spending most of his time on the bench, with Crouch and Walters almost in the mains.
Somewhat ironically, after a training session, a veteran Stoke City player asked in the dressing room with humor and seriousness: "What the hell is Michael Owen here for?"”
Owen was asking himself the same question. He retired at the end of the season without getting a league start, but he may have wanted to leave more than once in the months ahead.
Against this backdrop, perhaps Lingard is in a position to make a deliberate choice about his next steps. If his interest in football has faded, his choice could become even more difficult. But Lingard still has no shortage of suitors, and as long as this state continues, his attitude will always seem to be: why rush a decision?
Jesse Lingard had previously trained for several weeks with Saudi Arabian side Dammam, where Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard is the current manager, along with the likes of Jordan Henderson, Dembele and Wijnaldum.
Prior to that, Jesse Lingard had a similar training session at West Ham United, and he even featured for David Moyes' side in an internal game against Ipswich Town. Many have wondered if this will give Lingard a substantial breakthrough in his transfer, and whether Lingard has a chance to repair his relationship with West Ham fans, who were unhappy with his decision to join Nottingham Forest a year ago. But things seem to have gone nowhere, and all talk of a move to the Saudi league has come to an end.
Wolves had considered signing Jesse Lingard. His availability has also been discussed by other Premier League clubs, including one from Italy. However, none of these discussions have reached the substantive stage. Still, there is one thing to keep in mind: Lingard's pay is not too low. His base weekly salary at Nottingham Forest is $11£50,000 (14.)$70,000), plus some big prizes. This has also led to some problems between the players and the club owners.
Lingard was not without fault. Looking back, you must wonder if he ever realised that not choosing to move to West Ham last season was a bad decision, especially since it meant that he didn't share in the joy of West Ham's UEFA Europa League tribulation – the Hammers' first major trophy in 43 years.
Newcastle and Fulham had also offered Lingard a four-year contract before he joined Nottingham Forest, with the former even offering Lingard a four-year contract. Instead, Lingard ultimately opted to sign a one-year contract with Nottingham Forest rather than accept a two-year offer from the club, but he also made just 14 starts for Forest.
Maybe it was a bad decision as well, but Lingard and his team believe he would be in a better position if he could have a good year but could still leave as a free agent if he couldn't adapt.
Based on this, it is easier to understand why Lingard should make sure his next choice must be correct.
Lingard is always a round-the-clock reminder via social ** that he is a shit who has given up on his career and has responded with all sorts of outlandish headlines and unpleasant things from all the hostile crowds.
Some people are outraged when they feel that a professional footballer whose material needs are being met is not making the most of his talents. It's part of Lingard's daily life, and perhaps it's something to be sad about, as Lingard has tried to open up about some of the tougher moments he experienced at Old Trafford in the past, as well as the occasional struggle with psychological issues.
So, yes, maybe MLS will be the best destination for Lingard to find himself. Since today is his birthday, maybe we can postpone judging him until we see what happens next.
Did he make some questionable choices?Does he need to rediscover his love for football?Unless, of course, he wants to be one of those forgotten by the football world. But if he really wants to get his career back on track, he can extend his career for at least five or six years.
We'll see how things develop in the coming weeks. It will all depend on the priorities that Lingard has in mind, which is the biggest issue because the 31-year-old still has a chance to save his career, and we are not in a good position to talk about the player in the past tense.