Lewis McGugan has challenged Jesse Lingard to reproduce his up-turn in form on a regular basis as the Nottingham Forest midfielder returns to Manchester United for the first time on Tuesday evening.
The 30-year-old struck his second goal in Garibaldi Red during Forest’s 4-1 win over Blackburn Rovers last Wednesday, with Lingard also providing an assist. It was an impressive performance from the England star, who is starting to find his feet at The City Ground.
Having failed to find the net in his first 12 appearances since joining Forest from United in the summer, Lingard now has two in his last three matches. It is the kind of form Reds fans need to see from the midfielder, who is reportedly on a thumping £200,000 per-week at the club.
Ahead of his much-anticipated return to Old Trafford, ex-Forest ace McGugan has urged Lingard to re-kindle his best form heading into an important period for his side. McGugan played 229 games for the Reds, scoring 44 goals including a hatful of special strikes and Lingard will be keen to have a similar career at Forest to the former midfielder.
Speaking about Lingard to Mirror Football, McGugan said: "I’m not surprised how it’s worked out so far. A lot of people were expecting a lot more but you’ve got to understand the dynamics.
"Jesse has been a fantastic player, he’s had fantastic moments, he’s played for Man Utd and England. You have to be a really good player to reach them heights.
"From the outside, he hasn’t been playing well, he hasn’t been performing, but he has proven in the past that he is good enough. It’s where he is in his mind. He scored the other night and hopefully that will help him kick on and be one of the main players for Forest."
Lingard started his career at the Red Devils, and after loan spells at Leicester, Birmingham and Brighton, he made his senior United debut in a 2-1 defeat against Swansea in August 2014. It wasn’t until the following season where Lingard cemented his place in the side, with the midfielder scoring the winner in the FA Cup final.
The Warrington-born player went on to make a total of 232 appearances for the club, scoring 35 goals, before departing at the end of his contract in the summer. Lingard, who was linked with a return to West Ham after spending the second half of the 2020/21 season there, chose to join newly-promoted Forest instead.
It was a move that created plenty of controversy, but Lingard will return to Old Trafford for the first time on Tuesday. McGugan admitted that he will be relishing the opportunity to show what he’s capable of and prove the club wrong for not trying harder to keep him.
He added: "As an ex player of any team, you look out for that fixture against your former side, especially the one that is away from home.
"He will be, first and foremost, hoping to get the three points for Nottingham Forest, but also on a personal note he will want to give a good account of himself. He wants to try and impact the game, hopefully that will come in Forest’s favour and he will have a good day."
