Manchester United and England playmaker Jesse Lingard has a “unique” playing style according to former United midfielder Michael Carrick.
Lingard started in England’s World Cup Round of 16 knockout fixture against Colombia on Tuesday, with Gareth Southgate’s side winning a penalty shootout to reach the quarter-finals.
The talented midfielder has provided some excellent performances at this World Cup and has already scored with a curling effort in England’s 6-1 victory over Panama in the group stages.
Former United midfielder Carrick – who retired at the end of the season – believes there aren’t many players who provide the same outlet as Lingard, and he could see from a young age that the current England international was going to go far in the game.
Speaking to reporters (via Manchester United’s official website) Carrick said: “I remember watching Jesse over on the back pitches [at the Aon Training Complex] when he was a young lad.
“He must have been 15 and I was seeing this tiny little kid running around. You could see then the ability he had – his movement, awareness and all that sort of stuff.”
Carrick believes the hard work and dedication from Lingard is now clear to see, with both club and country seeing regularly effective performances week in week out.
He added: “It was just about his physicality and giving him time to develop. You can’t give enough credit to the staff behind the scenes for letting him take his own time to develop and nurturing him in different ways. Now, obviously we’re getting the rewards from that.
“He had a great season [in 2017/18], scoring a lot of goals and he is now a big player for us.”
England now face Sweden in the quarter-finals of the World Cup on Saturday, looking to book their place in the semi-finals of a major tournament for the first time since the European Championships in 1996.
The post Jesse Lingard has a “unique” playing style, says Michael Carrick appeared first on Squawka News.
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