Manchester United are open to letting Jesse Lingard leave before the deadline for the winter transfer window.
Lingard, 28, has not played in the Premier League all season and has been excluded from 15 of their 19 matchday league squads. The forward has not started in the league since January 1 last year and has been restricted to two starts this season - in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup third-round ties against Championship teams Luton and Watford.
The MEN revealed Sheffield United have expressed interest in signing Lingard on loan and the United academy graduate's contract expires in June 2022.
United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made five changes to the United side that beat Liverpool in the FA Cup fourth round but Lingard was not included in the squad.
"Jesse trained this morning, he wasn’t in the squad," Solskjaer said. "So, of course, he wants to play football, we will have to see and I will sit down with Jesse and make a decision on what we're going to do.
"So far, he’s been the ultimate professional, trained well with a small group this morning that were not in squad. I will sit down and see if anything comes up. I'm very happy to have him around us as I know he could have played today and done well."
Lingard won the FA Youth Cup with United as an 18-year-old in 2011 and made his debut for the club in 2014. He scored the winner in the 2016 FA Cup final against Crystal Palace and was on target in the 2017 Carabao Cup final triumph over Southampton.
