Transfer News: Fabrizio Romano provides update on Manchester United stars Jesse Lingard and Edinson Cavani
According to football journalist Fabrizio Romano on Twitter, Manchester United stars Jesse Lingard and Edinson Cavani are expected to depart the club in the summer as both of them run down their current deals with the club.
Lingard has been at United ever since a youngster, as he graduated from the club’s academy to establish himself in the first team ever since the arrival of Louis van Gaal. However, in recent years, the Englishman has seen his game time at the club reduce as he fell down the pecking order behind other midfield stars.
Romano said that the England international is expected to leave his boyhood club as a free agent in the summer and that there is no reason to think that his position on an exit will change anytime soon.
Lingard spent the second half of the 2020/21 season on loan at West Ham United after looking for opportunities for more first-team minutes and was a revelation in London, as he helped the Hammers secure a Europa League spot by the end of the campaign. Despite this form, he was not granted more game time at Old Trafford when he returned.
Cavani exploring options
Another potential exit in the summer comes in the form of Cavani, who like Lingard, is out of contract in the next few months. The Uruguayan striker has been a fan favourite since his arrival in 2020, but has been plagued by injuries this season, barely scraping together a few appearances this year.
The former Paris Saint-Germain forward is said to be exploring other options at the end of the season, said Romano, with a future destination yet to be named. It remains to be seen whether the Red Devils opt to keep him for another year given that the club will be out of depth in forward options if he exits the club in the summer.
Cavani and Cristiano Ronaldo are the only senior strikers that the club has this season. If the Uruguay international departs, then the Old Trafford side will only have 37-year-old Ronaldo to bank on, unless the club goes big in the summer and signs another forward.
Now 35 years old, Cavani could very well be heading into the twilight years of his career. This, coupled with his recent injury struggles at United, may not make him a great fit for us next year as we have hardly seen him in 2022. It just may be a good idea to let the player leave after his short stint in Manchester.
Anthony Martial had a good 2019/20 season but has faded since then. His move to Sevilla showcases where he stands in the pecking order at Old Trafford, while Mason Greenwood’s suspension has opened up a void in our attack that needs to be filled.
More Manchester United News
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Lingard, meanwhile, is 29 years old and has yet to establish himself at United as a first-team regular. He is clearly very talented, as was evident during his astonishing spell with West Ham last year, but his desire to leave for more game time as he enters the prime years of his career can very much be sympathized with.
It always hurts to see an academy graduate leave the club, and hopefully neither player nor club will not regret the decision to part ways. Only time will tell if this indeed is the last time we see both these stars at Old Trafford in the near future.
