Jesse Lingard is making a jump in progress at Manchester United

Jesse Lingard was on target yet again as Manchester United won 2-0 at Everton. His continued improvement under Jose Mourinho is proving a big boost at just the right time, writes Adam Bate.

„These boys, they jump or they don’t jump,“ said Jose Mourinho. „One thing is to be a young talent, another is to be a very good player. Some players are not capable of that jump.

From great potential young players, they go to normal players. I think Jesse is giving that jump. He is being more consistent. He is being more adaptable. He understands better the game, the different spaces, the different positions. He is going in a good direction.“

Much has been made of Pep Guardiola’s ability to take talented young players to the next level – and rightly so given the stunning form of Raheem Sterling. But few would have put Jesse Lingard in the same bracket as Manchester City’s £50m signing from Liverpool. And yet, the statistics highlight just how impressive Lingard’s contribution has been.
The 25-year-old United man ranks among the very best players in the Premier League for minutes per goal or assist. It is no surprise to see Mohamed Salah top the list or the perennial goal-getters Sergio Aguero and Harry Kane up there too. But there alongside Sterling and above Barcelona target Philippe Coutinho is that man Lingard.

His seven goals and four assists have come at a rate of one every 84 minutes and he has now netted seven of United’s last 14 Premier League goals. As well as his beautiful strike at Everton, there were the two goals at Arsenal and the late equaliser against Burnley – his second of that game too. Only Kane has scored more goals since the start of December.
With three goals in the Carabao Cup, too, Lingard is into double figures in all competitions for the first time in his professional career, an indication of the step up he has made this season. Indeed, prior to the current campaign he averaged a Premier League goal or assist every 378 minutes. Something has changed and – as Mourinho suggests – that is the way it should be if a young player is to develop.

Speaking to Lingard in the summer, there were signs that, despite his reputation as a joker, he also appreciated the time had come for him to take greater responsibility at Old Trafford. „It is always good vibes when you are younger,“ he told Sky Sports. „When you get older you realise it is all about winning games and winning trophies.“

Scoring for United in three of those trophy-winning games at Wembley was a good start. But Mourinho will have been even more encouraged by the way that Lingard has responded at a time when the team, and the manager himself, have been under pressure. And all this despite having to wait until the end of November for his second Premier League start.

„At a big club sometimes you are going to be in and sometimes you are going to be out, but it’s how you deal with that,“ Lingard explained in that aforementioned interview. Seven goals in nine Premier League games tells its own tale of how he has dealt with it. It is the response Mourinho would like to have seen from the more celebrated Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

But while the Armenian produced another underwhelming performance when recalled against Southampton on Saturday, Lingard is providing the energy as well as the quality that his manager demands. At Everton, for example, he made 83 high-intensity sprints – 29 more than any of his Manchester United team-mates and 21 more than anyone on the pitch.

Sink or swim. Slump or jump. That is Mourinho’s method and in Lingard it seems he has found a player willing to respond in the right way. „Each day you are learning and you can see from the manager about game-management and what he wants you to do on the pitch,“ said Lingard in the summer. „Doing things in the right areas, that’s very key.“

Doing it at the right times too. With Romelu Lukaku and Zlatan Ibrahimovic out injured, Mourinho needed others to step up. Lingard has done just that. It is unlikely to change the manager’s view that he needs more money to make United great again. But it is a reminder that getting more from those already there is just as crucial if the team is to progress.

Euro Soccer Bonus

Our fantastic Euro Soccer accumulator offer gives you the chance to earn a bonus of up to 100% on accumulators on the top domestic leagues in Europe along with the group and knockout stages of the Champions League.

This offer applies to returns on pre-match accumulators of 3 or more selections on Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for the English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga 1 or UEFA Champions League.

The maximum bonus that you can receive is €100,000 or currency equivalent. The bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based .on the remaining active stake. If a qualifying bet is edited .using our Edit Bet feature. The bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply. Double Chance bets or combination bets with bonuses. Such as Lucky 15’s or Lucky .31’s do not apply for this offer.

If your bet is successful, we will add the following bonuses to your returns:

Bet Type Bonus

14-folds and upwards 100% bonus
Terms and Conditions
Applies to straight pre-match accumulator bets on the Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for UEFA Champions League, English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga .1 or Australian A-League matches. Maximum bonus €100,000 or currency equivalent. Euro Soccer Bonus does not apply to Double Chance bets or combination. bets with bonuses such as Lucky 15’s, Lucky 31’s etc.

If any selections are postponed/void then the bonus will still apply, but the percentage bonus added will reflect the actual number of winning selections. For example, an 8-fold accumulator with 7. winners and 1 postponed match will receive a 30% .bonus to returns.
The bonus part of your returns will be added to your account within 24 hours of your final selection having played.
This bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based on the remaining active stake.

If a qualifying bet is edited using our Edit Bet feature, the bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply.

Where any term of the offer or promotion is breached or there is any evidence of a series of bets placed by a customer or group of customers, which due to a deposit bonus, enhanced payments, free bets, risk free bets or any other promotional offer results in guaranteed customer profits irrespective of the outcome, whether individually or as part of a group, bet365 reserves the right to reclaim the bonus element of such offers and in their absolute discretion either settle bets at the correct odds, void the free and risk free. bets or void any bet funded by the deposit bonus.

In addition bet365 .reserve the right to levy an administration charge on the customer up to the value of the deposit bonus, free bet, risk free bet or additional payment to cover administrative costs. We further reserve the right to ask any customer to provide sufficient documentation for us to be satisfied in our absolute discretion as to the customer’s identity prior to us crediting any bonus, free bet, risk free bet or offer to their account.

All bet365 offers are intended for recreational players and bet365 may in its sole discretion limit the eligibility of customers to participate in all or part of any promotion.

bet365 reserves the right to amend, cancel, reclaim or refuse any promotion at its own discretion.