Why Everton signing Jesse Lingard would be a horrible move
According to BBC (h/t Liverpool Echo), former Man United star turned pundit Paul Scholes has urged Everton to consider a swoop for out-of-favour Red Devils playmaker Jesse Lingard.
Lingard started and scored in United’s 2-1 win over LASK Link in the second leg of the Europa League last-16 tie but was substituted by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer soon after bagging his fourth goal of the delayed 2019-20 campaign.
As per the report, Scholes feels that Lingard isn’t good enough to be a regular starter for a top club like Man United, who need to challenge for silverware. However, the pundit has suggested that a move to a mid-table club like Everton would suit him well.
Everton’s current attacking scenario
The Toffees were languishing at the bottom of the table at one stage but somehow helped themselves to a 12th-place finish in the 2019-20 Premier League, with the appointment of Carlo Ancelotti midway through the campaign sparking a radical change in team dynamics.
Richarlison and the Dominic Calvert-Lewin both plundered 13 goals apiece in the league, shouldering the bulk of Everton’s goalscoring workload.
That’s a hefty percentage when you consider that the Toffees only managed to score 44 goals throughout the season. This certainly isn’t good enough for a club expected to threaten the division’s big guns.
The likes of Alex Iwobi, Theo Walcott, Moise Kean, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Bernard shared only 10 league goals among them, which is a clear indication that Everton lacked significant goal contributions from their attackers apart from Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin.
Why Lingard doesn’t fit the bill at Goodison Park
The appointment of a 3-time Champions League-winning manager like Ancelotti back in December was a massive statement of intent from the Toffees.
Now, the Toffees need to back the Italian gaffer with some quality investment in the transfer window to allow him to build a team in his own image. With that in mind, however, Everton can’t afford to invest in Premier League stars who have struggled to find their best form in the recent past. That would be a massive step backwards.
Jesse Lingard is one of those players who have promised a lot at Man United over the past few years but his end product and consistency just haven’t been up to the mark.
Moreover, with Ancelotti largely preferring a 4-4-2 system with two central midfielders complemented by two wingers and two strikers up top, a specialist No.10 like Lingard doesn’t really fit the manager’s philosophy.
Read more
- Why Manchester United should make a move for Rayan Ait-Nouri
- Forget it Solskjaer – Man United signing 33-year-old PL veteran Jan Vertonghen would be anything but smart
At 27, Lingard is no longer a promising youngster and there isn’t enough evidence to suggest that he would be a genuine upgrade on what Everton already have in their attacking ranks. The Toffees need to improve on their goalscoring record from the previous campaign but it’s worth remembering that Lingard himself scored only once in 21 league outings for United last term.
Verdict
Suffice to say, Everton need to bring in some goalscoring attacking midfielders moving forward and a move for Jesse Lingard, who has flattered to deceive at United, won’t really make a lot of sense in footballing terms.
