Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho is reportedly interested in reuniting with Manchester United winger Jesse Lingard. Lingard, who has come through the ranks at the English club, got a lot of game time under Mourinho when the Portuguese manager was at the helm of affairs at Old Trafford.
As per TalkSport, Mourinho is interested in signing Jesse Lingard as a possible replacement for another Englishman, Dele Alli. The report states that Lingard is valued at around £30 million by Manchester United. Spurs could make a move for Lingard if they sell Alli, who has been linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain.
Jesse Lingard has had a tough 18 months at Old Trafford having fallen out-of-favour under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The English attacker is entering the last year of his current contract at Manchester United and needs to take a big call regarding his career, which is stagnating.
Jesse Lingard to Spurs: Does it make any sense?
Spurs have brought in several players in the transfer window, including the big fish, Gareth Bale, from Real Madrid. The north London outfit are looking more like a Mourinho side now, following the signings of hard-working players like Matt Doherty and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. The addition of Jesse Lingard to this team would fit the Mourinho mould well.
Lingard, when in his prime form, was a player who had good energy and work-rate, the ability to link-up play between midfield and attack, and also score vital goals. The Englishman has racked up 33 goals and provided 20 assists in 207 games for the club. Mourinho seemed to like Lingard during his spell as Manchester United manager, with the Portuguese manager playing him time and again, in different positions.
Lingard’s versatility is another important aspect of his game, as he is capable of playing in plenty of positions – as a winger on either side or as an attacking midfielder. Mourinho’s apparent interest in the player makes sense, considering their past history, but selling a player like Dele Alli, who has a lot more to offer going forward than the United man, seems like a decision that could backfire. Alli (24) is also younger than Lingard (27) and has a lot more football to offer at Spurs. He is currently going through a lean patch but could perform at his best in the future.
Purely on footballing logic, this will not make much sense but Jose has a tendency to pull off something special now and then and the mystery regarding Alli’s falling out of favour will need solvation before we can definitely state our opinion on the Lingard angle in this scenario.