It’s Jess business

Somehow it seemed appropriate for Jesse Lingard to score the last goal of Manchester United’s 2019-20 season and for it to be the goal that confirmed their win over Leicester City, the achievement of a third place finish – the best since the days of Sir Alex Ferguson – and also confirmed their place in this season’s UEFA Champions League. It was a happy ending for a frustrating season for Lingard. The arrival of Bruno Fernandes in January and the emergence of Mason Greenwood as a first team starter had seen him slip down the pecking order.

While Jesse has been a Manchester United player since he was in school, it was not until he was 23 that he made his league debut, having had loan spells at Leicester City, Birmingham City, Brighton and Hove Albion and Derby County. In 2010-11, he was part of the Manchester United team which won the FA Youth Cup, playing alongside Paul Pogba, in his first spell with the club. Lingard then made 11 appearances for England at under 21 level. Despite t...