Jesse Lingard claims he was given false promises by his boyhood club 

Nottingham Forest midfielder Jesse Lingard hits out at Manchester, saying he was given “false promises” about playing time during his final year at Old Trafford and is still oblivious over why he was given such inadequate time during his second stint

Lingard, who joined the Red Devils at a tender age of seven, had returned to Old Trafford last year after a productive loan spell with the ‘Hammers’, where he revived his career with five assists and nine goals in the second half of the 2020-21 campaign. 

The 30 year old represented his boyhood on 232 occasions but started only two PL games last season under former managers Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick before he joined Forest on a free transfer earlier this year.

"I don't know what the problem was, whether it was politics or whatever. I still haven't got an answer to this day," Lingard told The Telegraph ahead of Forest's trip to Old Trafford on Tuesday.

"I didn't even ask. I'd rather that someone out of respect for me being there that long told me, 'This is why you're not playing,' but I never got that. It was all false promises. I was training hard and I was sharp, I was ready to play ... When you're working hard in training and don't play at the end of it, it's very frustrating."

Forest are languishing at 19th just above Southampton in the league standings and are facing the threat of relegation but Lingard is confident of his side to bounce back in the final half of the season.  This is another chapter in my life, and a different challenge for me which I wanted," he added.

"It will be an enjoyable one, but we want to win the game. You can't get caught up too much emotionally. It's a chance to say my goodbyes because I never really got that."