‘Pog and Rav the best I played with in academy’

JESSE Lingard says Ravel Morrison and Paul Pogba were the most talented individuals he played with in the United academy.

Morrison and Pogba, both 27, were Lingard’s team-mates in the triumphant 2011 FA Youth Cup-winning side but both left United the following year.

Pogba declined United’s contract offer to move to Juventus for a compensation fee and the troubled Morrison was sold to West Ham United for £500,000. Sir Alex Ferguson later wrote Morrison ‘might be the saddest case. He possessed as much natural talent as any youngster we ever signed, but kept getting into trouble’ and United ‘had little option but to cut the cord’.

“I’ll probably say Ravel Morrison or Paul Pogba,” Lingard said. “Rav was very technically gifted. Natural ability dribbling and shooting ability. He had everything in his locker.

“I’ve known Paul since he was 16 and he was big at that age. He’s been maturing each year and you can see what kind of player he would turn out to be.

He’s gone on to win many trophies and a World Cup so I’d probably put those two up there.”

Lingard was key in United’s League Cup and Europa Leaguewinning squad of 2016-17 but feels the current side is one of the best since Ferguson retired. “It’s up there,” he said. “There’s been a lot of transition periods over the years but I think we are moving in the right direction at the moment, the team is doing well and full of confidence and the only way is up at the moment.”