Childhood & Early Life
Jesse Lingard was born in Warrington, Cheshire, on December 15, 1992, in an average English family. His enrolment at the ‘William Beamont Community High School’ intensified his love for football as a kid, which reached another level as he grew up. As a toddler, he played football just for fun, without being aware of how it would shape his destiny.
Noticing his passion for the game, his parents got him enrolled at the ‘Penketh United’ academy. Jesse performed brilliantly there, which made his parents decide to send him to a better youth academy. ‘Manchester United’ seemed to be the logical choice. Thus, at the age of 7, Jesse was practicing with the most well-known youth academy in the country. Having learnt the basics from ‘Penketh,’ Jesse improved rapidly in his game.
He played among many youth ranks throughout his formative years at the academy. He idolized Andrés Iniesta and tried imitating his style of football. He was usually one of the shortest players in all his teams, but that did not stop the left-footed footballer from leaving a solid impression.
He finally got his big break in the ‘FA Youth Cup’ of the 2010–2011 season, which became the ultimate litmus test for Jesse to score a professional contract with ‘Manchester United.’ In the summer of 2011, a professional contract was offered to him, bringing Jesse closer to his childhood dream of being a regular in the main squad of ‘Manchester United.’
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Career
In November 2011, he was included in the senior matchday team for ‘Manchester’ against ‘Crystal Palace’ in the quarter finals of the ‘League Cup.’ He was benched throughout the game. In early 2012, he was asked to play in the senior team once again. However, the situation remained the same and he did not get a chance to showcase his talent.
In November 2012, he was loaned to ‘Leicester’ for a month. The day after he joined ‘Leicester,’ Jesse made his debut on the field and as a substitute. His loan period was extended till January 2013. However, Jesse played in only five games for them.
In the 2013–2014 season, Jesse was made part of ‘Manchester United’s pre-season 19-man squad. In a match against the ‘A-League’ team ‘Sydney,’ he scored two goals to contribute to his team’s 5–1 victory. He further scored against ‘Yokohama’ and ‘Kitchee’ and brought his ‘All-Stars’ goal tally to 4, in 4 games, which was considered to be an excellent performance.
After proving his mettle in ‘All-Stars’ games, Jesse thought he had earned his ticket to the main squad as a regular and hoped that he would not be loaned to any other team. However, in September 2013, he was loaned for a month to ‘Birmingham City.’ All set to prove his worth as a senior player, he scored a goal against ‘Sheffield Wednesday FC’ within the first 20 minutes of the game. In the next few minutes, he completed his hat-trick. He scored another goal in the second half and ensured his team an electrifying victory.
‘Manchester’ accepted ‘Birmingham’s offer to keep Jesse until December, but he missed a few matches due to a knee treatment. His temporary stay with ‘Birmingham’ extended until January 2014, but he was suspended from the last couple of games following violent behavior on the field.
Rejecting the offer to extend the loan period, Jesse returned to ‘Manchester United,’ hoping to make it to the senior team. He remained an unused substitute for them instead, before he was loaned again, this time to ‘Brighton & Hove Albion’ for a three-month period. Jesse played 17 games for Brighton, which included his ‘Championship’ play-offs, and managed to score only 4 goals.
In August, during the 2014–2015 season, he was asked to play on the field against ‘Liverpool’ in the finals of the ‘International Champions Cup.’ The ‘Premier League’ season finally had him making his competitive debut in a match against ‘Swansea.’ Within 24 minutes of the game, he suffered an injury and was replaced.
In February 2015, he was sent to ‘Derby County’ on loan and stayed with them for the remaining part of the season. In November 2015, he finally scored his maiden goal against ‘West Bromwich Albion,’ opening the goal tally for his team. He scored against highly competitive teams such as ‘Stoke City’ and ‘Chelsea’ in the following few months.
In the 2016 ‘FA Cup’ finals against ‘Crystal Palace,’ Jesse scored the winning goal for his team. This performance finally fixed him a regular spot in the main team.
In the 2016–2017 season, Jesse scored the opening goal for ‘Manchester United’ in their game against the ‘Premier League’ title-holder team ‘Leicester City’ and led his team to a win. During the 2017 ‘EFL Cup Final,’ he scored the match-winning goal for his team against ‘Southampton.’ As his performance improved significantly, ‘Manchester United’ signed a contract to retain him till 2021, with an option to extend it if both the parties agreed to it.
Being one of the most competitive players in the ‘Manchester United’ youth academy, Jesse was included in the ‘Under-17’ national squad for the 2008 ‘Nordic Tournament.’ He made his ‘Under-21’ debut against Scotland in 2013. In June 2015, he played for the English team in the finals of the ‘UEFA European Under-21 Championship.’
In November 2016, he was offered a place in the national senior team in a friendly contest against France. He played in the ‘World Cup’ qualifiers too.
Personal Life
Jesse Lingard was in relationship with Emma Hyde for quite some time before they eventually broke up. Emma accused Jesse of splitting with her as soon as he tasted success in football. She also said that she had taken care of him when he was injured during one of his junior matches. Jesse remained silent on the matter.
Emma further claimed that she had provided financial help to Jesse when he was broke. The issue was lapped up by the media, and Jesse received a lot of flak for the developments. Emma later announced that she was hoping for reconciliation but that eventually did not happen.
