Manchester United

Manchester United

Premier League • England

Gomes hints at Rangnick after naming ‘most under-rated’ man he’s played with

Angel Gomes has hinted that new Manchester United boss Ralf Rangnick should give Jesse Lingard a chance to impress at Old Trafford and named him as the “most under-rated” player he has played with.

Gomes, who left United for Lille in the summer of 2020, has heaped praise on his former team-mate, who he labels “a ‘baller”. The 28-year-old Lingard was frozen out of the United first team by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. His lack of game time forced the midfielder to go on loan to West Ham last season, where he excelled.

But, despite an England recall, Lingard could still not force his way into Solskjaer’s plans. In fact Lingard has only made one start this season and only 11 appearances in total.

And Lingard was left out of Ralf Rangnick’s first squad at the weekend. Although Rangnick confirmed his omission was down to a fitness issue.

Rangnick said: “Jesse and Anthony indicated after training [yesterday] that they didn’t feel well, they felt pain. That’s the reason they are not in the squad.”

But Gomes, 21, thinks Lingard is worth a chance in United’s first team. In an interview for Rising Ballers on YouTube, he said “He went through a phase of being underrated and I had to argue with a lot of people about this. Jesse is a joke.

“He went through a bad spell and it was like the end of the world, you know how it is in football. You just saw when he went to West Ham what he can do.


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Lingard a starter against Young Boys

“He is a ‘baller. I’ve never seen someone that can run at the same pace for the whole game – on and off the ball – and still do something.

 

“There would be times in training where I’d be thinking this guy has four lungs! Pre-season, he’s on the runs and then passing, boom. Jesse’s the most underrated player I’ve played with.”

Lingard, who is out of contract next summer, was handed a rare start against Young Boys in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

Ahead of the game, Rangnick said: “Everyone has the chance to perform and present himself.

“That is why I am happy to give game time to quite a few of those players to see them under pressure in a Champions League game in front of 75,000 in a sold-out stadium.

“This is a perfect opportunity to get to know the players, like I did last Sunday against Palace. We have only had a week of training so far.

“With every training session, every opportunity to see them in competitive games, I will get to know them better.”

READ MORE: Rangnick call prompts target change with Man Utd transfer now ‘impossible’