EPL

Lingard follows Pogba out of Man Utd exit door

By Sports Desk June 01, 2022

Manchester United have confirmed Jesse Lingard will leave the club after his contract expires.

Lingard's deal runs out at the end of June and the midfielder, who came through United's youth system, had long been expected to leave for pastures new.

On Wednesday, United confirmed the 29-year-old was departing, following Paul Pogba out of the exit door.

He reportedly pushed for a move away from Old Trafford in January, but United did not wish to sell the England international.

However, Lingard – who enjoyed a fruitful spell on loan at West Ham during the 2020-21 season, scoring nine league goals in 16 games as David Moyes' team qualified for the Europa League – only started two top-flight matches across the 2021-22 campaign.

He featured 22 times across all competitions, scoring twice – with the last of those goals an 89th-minute winner against the Hammers on his return to the London Stadium last September.

In total, Lingard made 232 United appearances, scoring 35 times.

West Ham wanted to sign Lingard permanently last year, while Newcastle United are also reported to hold an interest.

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    PLAYERS TO WATCH

    Brighton - James Milner

    James Milner has appeared in the final game in 16 different Premier League campaigns – if he plays in this match, he’ll be the first player in the competition's history to do so in 17 different seasons.

    Manchester United - Bruno Fernandes

    Fernandes has created 113 chances in the Premier League this season, 14 more than any other player. He also created the most chances last season (119) and is the first player to do so in back-to-back seasons since Eden Hazard in 2013-14 (93) and 2014-15 (100).

    MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW

    In their first 19 Premier League matches this season, Brighton were the fifth-highest scorers in the Premier League (38 goals) and had a conversion rate of 13.3 per cent. In their last 18 games since the turn of the year, only Everton (15) have scored fewer goals than the Seagulls (17), with their conversion rate of 6.6 per cent the worst of any side in this time.

    United have lost their final league game in two of the last five seasons (W3), as many times as they had in the previous 33 campaigns (W23 D8).

    Brighton have lost their final game in four of their six Premier League campaigns, with the exceptions being a 2-1 win at Burnley (2019-20) and a 3-1 home win v West Ham (2021-22).

    Brighton have won each of their last four Premier League games against United – the last side to beat the Red Devils in five consecutive league games was Norwich City between 1988 and 1990.

    OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

    Brighton - 35.4%

    Man Utd - 35.9%

    Draw - 28.7%

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