Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick has admitted that Manchester United could not find a suitable agreement with any club to sign Jesse Lingard in January.
West Ham and Newcastle were both heavily linked with a move for the 29-year-old midfielder, who ultimately stayed at Old Trafford for the rest of the season.
Lingard's contract runs out at the end of this season, meaning he will be allowed to leave on a free transfer unless he agrees to a new deal in Manchester.
But he did have the opportunity to leave mid-season given the interest around him in January.
Even Tottenham were credited with an interest, with football.london exclusively revealing that the north Londoners had made contact with the player's representatives over a move to N17.
No move came to fruition though and Lingard will have to take his chances when they arise at Old Trafford in an attempt to win a place in Gareth Southgate's England World Cup squad at the end of the year.
Rangnick has opened up on Lingard's future and why he did not get a move away from the cub.
Speaking to our friends at the Manchester Evening News, the United boss said: "Three weeks ago, Jesse didn't want to leave, then he changed his mind.
"I had a chat with him 10 days ago and I could fully understand why he wanted to leave to get game time for his future and the World Cup and I told him if he finds a club and the club find a solution with our club I would allow him to leave.
"But with all the developments, things changed; we also had no agreement with any other club so we had to take a final decision as the board and keep Jesse until the end of the season.
"The club told me, the board told me, they couldn't find an agreement with any clubs interested in him. With the window closing Monday evening the board informed me they would rather he stay, so I could understand and accept.
"It was two things. We had a problem with Mason Greenwood and being without a player for the time being who hasn't played in weeks and the club not finding an agreement with another club."
All three clubs could make a move for Lingard when his contract ends in the summer.
