Fear and loathing over exit

League place. Newcastle are unwilling to agree to the survival bonus, on top of a loan fee of £2.5m and payment of Lingard’s £100,000-a-week wages in full, that would take the package to more than £16.5m.

Lingard and his representatives are furious with United for effectively pricing him out of the move, and the 29-year-old now faces spending the rest of the season on the bench at United. The midfielder feels he deserves better from his boyhood club, with those close to him angry at the way the Old Trafford hierarchy are treating him.

Sources close to Lingard – who is out of contract this summer – also suggested United’s treatment of him had not gone down well with team-mates, like Marcus Rashford. A source close to Lingard said: “United are petrified of Jesse going elsewhere, playing really well and showing them up. They don’t want a repeat of what happened at West Ham, where he almost helped get them into the Champions League with the goals he scored.

“Jesse’s popular with the United players and they feel for him. The way the club are treating Jesse, given how long he’s been at United, is sending out the wrong message to the rest of the squad.”