Jesse Lingard not ready for England call up admits Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal

Jesse Lingard celebrates his first goal for Manchester United with Marcos Rojo

Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal believes Jesse Lingard is not ready for an England call-up despite his recent brilliant displays for the Red Devils, as per the reports on ESPN. Van Gaal has expressed his concerns about Juan Mata and Lingard as they are not ‘speedy’ enough to play on either wing and he has admitted he is on the lookout for two wingers during the January transfer window.

The Dutch coach was full of praise for United’s homegrown player Lingard, who registered his first goal for the Red Devils in their 2-0 victory over West Brom on Saturday. The youngster was brilliant in midweek against CSKA Moscow where he assisted Wayne Rooney’s winner in the late stages of the game.

The 22-year-old’s impressive displays at Old Trafford have not been left unnoticed by the England coach Roy Hodgson. However, Lingard’s boss at Manchester believes it is too early for him to get a call-up for the national team.

“I would say it’s much too early and we have to wait and see to see if he is consistent in form,” said Van Gaal in an interview.

“He’s more or less the same age as Memphis Depay, so we have to wait and see, but I’m very happy with his contribution up until now. As a manager I’m well aware that it’s much better to produce players from your own youth education, from your own culture, than to buy players from another culture or country.”

“I have provided a lot of examples of that in my managerial career. It’s not a surprise for my board because they know. And Jesse deserved it.”

Mata and Lingard are not pacy wingers: Van Gaal

On the other hand, Mata has been in fine form since the start of the season and he also scored his side’s second goal at the weekend. The Spain international usually prefers to work his magic from the middle in a centre attacking midfield role, but Van Gaal has deployed in the right flank – making him play as a makeshift winger.

The former Barcelona coach is certainly not satisfied with the balance of his attack, despite labouring to another three points against the Baggies. Van Gaal has admitted neither Mata nor Lingard are pacy enough to play on the wings and he has revealed that he may need to bring in two wingers once the January transfer window opens.

“I have said already many times we need speed and creativity on the wings,” Van Gaal said.

“You have seen that now we play with Jesse Lingard and he is not the most speedy winger in the world and [Juan] Mata is also not the most speedy winger in the world. So first we must first finish that problem and then we can see how we play and how we are in balance with playing with speedy wingers.”

“I want to buy a lot of players, but not all of the players I want are for sale. So there are a lot of factors in it.”