Jesse wants club to keep hold of the ‘best in the world’
DAVID de Gea has been urged to stay at United by Jesse Lingard after his man-of-the-match display against Spurs.
The Reds triggered the one-year option on De Gea’s contract in November to keep him at the club until 2020 and the goalkeeper’s camp remain ‘optimistic’ he will extend his stay beyond that.
De Gea again proved his worth in the 1-0 win against Spurs after he made 11 second-half saves at Wembley to keep United’s top four challenge alive. And Lingard was keen to pay tribute post-match.
“We want him to stay. Having a ‘keeper like that gives you extra confidence. He’s a great goalkeeper,” he told reporters.
“It’s a normal day for him. He was excellent. They looked like scoring but he’s saved us. We see that in training and it pays off when it comes to the big games. Some of his saves, you’re like, ‘Oh my god’. He’s one of the best keepers in the world, if not the best.”
De Gea did not have a save to make in the first-half and United’s bold, attacking approach paid off when Marcus Rashford fired the visitors in front just before the break.
Lingard made a crucial interception inside his own half in the run up to the goal before slipping the ball to Paul Pogba, who found Rashford with a stunning through ball.
Rashford then showed remarkable composure to slot the ball past Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to cap a clinical nine-second transition from defence into attack.
Clearly, those finishing lessons with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer have been working a treat.
“Throughout the training session in Dubai he’s been practising his finishing with the manager,” Lingard said.
“It’s prepared him for big games and moments like that.”
United have made a remarkable start to life under Solskjaer and have won all six games under the Norwegian, scoring 17 goals in the process.
Chelsea remain six points clear of United in fourth place but there is real hope and belief at Old Trafford again. So what exactly has Solskjaer changed?
“We’re very organised. We want to attack, we want to make those runs forward,” Lingard added.
“The midfielders are running forward and we’re putting other teams under pressure. It’s working and we need to carry it on.
“For us now we’ve got to keep looking forward.
“We’ve got another game against Brighton on Saturday and we need three points.
“We’ll see where we are at the end of the season.”