World Cup 2018: Jesse Lingard could be man to solve Gareth Southgate’s midfield conundrum

Gareth Southgate wants to play with one man holding and two going forward, and it is increasingly likely that one of those two will be Manchester United’s Jesse Lingard

There are two friendlies and 18 days before England start their World Cup against Tunisia in Volgograd, and Gareth Southgate still has plenty of decisions to make. In goal, at centre-back, at left-back, probably at right-back too, but most of all in midfield.

Southgate wants to play with one man holding and two going forward, and it is increasingly likely that one of those two will be Manchester United’s Jesse Lingard. He was the big winner out of England’s two friendlies in March, starting and scoring against Holland, starting and impressing against Italy. He has even edged his way ahead of Dele Alli in the pecking order, although a more attacking England team could pick the two together.

That might come as a surprise to some, but not to Southgate. He has been an admirer of Lingard for years, he brought him in to the under-21 set-up and took him to the European Championships in 2015. He always knew Lingard would be a good player and there was a sense of vindication when Southgate discussed Lingard’s progress in their joint press conference at The Grove hotel on Friday afternoon.

“Jesse is a fantastic player at recognising the space and working away from the ball,” Southgate said. “He’s a great link between midfield and attack, he gets between the lines brilliantly, and is really intelligent.”

Southgate brought up a game from almost five years ago, when a 20-year-old Lingard played for a Birmingham City side that lost 4-0 at Elland Road. That was October 2013 but back then Southgate knew that Lingard would be a good player, if only he got the right platform.

“I have worked with Jesse for a long time and we have had belief in him,” Southgate said. “I saw him on loan at Birmingham, I can remember going to watch him at Leeds and he barely got a kick. But that was because his team-mates couldn't see the moves, the runs he was making. His performance was so intelligent but he was operating on a different thinking-level to the rest of the team on that day. I saw enough within that to know how he would fit within our way of playing.”

With all due respect to Chris Burke and Wade Elliott, Lingard is playing with better players now, and his form for Manchester United and England is testament to that.

Back in Southgate’s first game as England manager, a forgettable 2-0 win over Malta in October 2016, he surprisingly picked Lingard but he has always felt rewarded by trust he placed in the young midfielder: “Every time he has come into games or started games he has been excellent.”

Lingard has impressed in England friendlies (Getty Images)

Now, as Southgate’s England tenure faces its first major test, Lingard is still there. And his 14 goals for Manchester United this season suggest that Southgate was right all along. Lingard’s speed and sharp instincts have made him a very effective counter-attacker for Jose Mourinho’s side and Southgate is thrilled to be able to use a player in such good form.

“He has had a super season,” Southgate said. “If there has been a question mark of the past couple of years it was if he is going to convert his finishing from what we see in training into matches. This year he has done that so it is a really good moment for him.”

Lingard himself was relaxed and confident sat alongside Southgate. Even going into the biggest summer of his career he said that he did not feel any anxiety about the challenge ahead, although Southgate did point that, having been brought up “at a club where you play in front of 70,000 people”, that might be to be expected.

“At the moment, I don’t feel any pressure,” Lingard said. “I am enjoying my football and playing freely. The group of lads we have got around us help that, and especially the manager as well. He trusts all the players and he trusts us too and it is only right that we perform.”

Southgate described his own job as being “to paint a realistic picture for this team” and to “allow them the space to grow”. Of no one is that truer than Lingard, and while Southgate has demurred from any bold predictions, Lingard was happy enough to say that he believes England can win it.

“I just think of the quality we have in the team,” Lingard said. “There’s a lot of quality in the team, and like Gareth says everyone brings their own different attributes. If we can combine those together in the perfect way then we can go far.”