Jesse Lingard masterclass

You have had several loans. Did you fear you wouldn’t make it at United? I just wanted to play football when I was younger – no matter what the level. It was all about the enjoyment of playing. Whether I was playing for the under-16s, 15s or 14s, it did n

Manchester United’s footloose forward tells you how to leave defenders in a spin You’ve played in so many different positions for Manchester United. Which role suits you the best? I think for now, playing on the wing and cutting inside – that’s where I’ll continue to play. However, over the next few years I would really like to become a No.10. I have played there a few times for England and United and that’s my natural position. But while I’m still growing, playing out wide is good for my development.

Former Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen compared you to Andres Iniesta a few years ago – what was your reaction to that? I’ve always admired Andres Iniesta – the things he’s done on the pitch are unbelievable. I have watched a lot of videos of him and looked at the way he plays. I wouldn’t say I’ve copied what he does, but I certainly look at his style and want to take parts of his game and add them to my own.

You seem to have a knack for beating opposition players in tight spaces. Have you always been good at that? Yeah, I would say from being a young player, I’ve always enjoyed dribbling with the ball, collecting the ball in tight spaces and then trying to make things happen. As I’ve developed it’s become a really strong part of my game. I have managed to take that into my matches and cause problems for the opposition.

Physically, you are quite small in stature – were you ever worried that this would hold you back? Yeah, at United it kind of did. When I was playing in the under-18 age group, I had to play under-16 level football. But United had always said to me that I was a late developer and that I just needed to be patient. They always thought I would be 22 or 23 before I broke through into the first team. Those were the words of Alex Ferguson. I always listened to him and trusted all of his words – now I’m a regular for Manchester United.

Paul Scholes says you should score 15 goals a season. Do you agree? Definitely. As soon as I heard him say that, I agreed with him. At youth level I played in a great side, with players

“I have always admired Andres Iniesta. I watch a lot of videos of him and want to add parts of his game to mine”

like Paul Pogba, Danny Drinkwater and Ravel Morrison, and in that team I scored a lot of goals. Last season I think I could have scored 10 goals and that’s a big target of mine – I need to score more goals and get more assists.

Did you admire any strikers when you were still learning the game? Ruud van Nistelrooy was a big hero of mine when I was growing up. He was such an amazing finisher and scored so many different types of goals with both feet. The thing that set him apart was how calm he was when he was in front of goal. Wayne Rooney is another player that I would watch a lot when I was younger and I have been lucky enough to play with him at United. His overhead kick in the win against Manchester City [in 2011] is probably my favourite goal. To have the ability to produce that in a derby was just incredible. I still remember seeing it on TV at home and jumping up and down inside my living room.

Do you think that strikers need to have different personalities to other outfield players to succeed? I think strikers need to have a certain type of personality to be successful. The team is always relying on them to put the ball in the back of the net. I think that the very best strikers really enjoy having that responsibility to win matches and get points for the team.

Goalscorers: are they born or made? A lot of the great strikers that I have played with and watched have been natural goalscorers. Players such as Van Nistelrooy, Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov all have that killer instinct in front of goal. But I think all three of them combined that with a great work ethic to hone their ability. They all stayed on after training to practise different shooting drills and various situations that they would experience in a game.

You’re 24 now – so where do you see yourself in five years? Hopefully I’ll still be playing regularly for Man United – I want to be playing week in, week out and become established in the first team, and it would be nice to win lots of trophies as well.

Jesse Lingard wears the adidas X16+ Purechaos Blue Blast, which are designed to deliver maximum speed. For info, visit adidas.co.uk/football