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Football

01st Apr 2024

Jesse Lingard ‘isn’t a football player’ and should retire according to his FC Seoul coach

Callum Boyle

Jesse Lingard

Life isn’t going so well in South Korea

Jesse Lingard’s start to life in South Korea hasn’t gone to plan at FC Seoul and his coach admitted he’s even considering dropping him from the side.

Lingard made the move in February after being without a club since leaving Nottingham Forest at the end of last season but so far has just one win from the four games they have played this term.

And manager Kim Gi-dong, who has already criticised Lingard, has warned the 31-year-old that he faces time out of the side altogether if he doesn’t improve.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about removing Jesse. I don’t think a player who doesn’t run for a few minutes is a football player,” he said.

“If he doesn’t fight, and doesn’t run better than the player who runs for 90 minutes? If you’re going to play soccer in the name, shouldn’t you just take the retired players?”

The midfielder wasn’t in the squad for their 1-1 draw against Gangwon on Sunday after missing out due to a meniscus injury.

He was also criticised after their 2-0 win with Gi-dong saying: “Even though he came on as a substitute, he didn’t work hard and avoided tussle,” he said.

“The name value has no meaning on the pitch. I will tell him this exactly.”

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