Jesse Lingard could face FC Seoul axe as manager aims another dig at latest performances

Former Manchester United and England midfielder Jesse Lingard has again been criticised by his manager at new club FC Seoul.

Lingard joined the South Korean club in February, with the signing dubbed the 'biggest in K-League history' by some journalists.

The hype around his arrival was significant, with thousands of fans queueing up outside FC Seoul's home stadium before the midfielder's first appearance in order to buy Lingard merchandise.

Lingard was also responsible for breaking a K-League record, with his debut against Incheon resulting in the highest-ever attendance for a single league match.

But his time on the pitch hasn't quite gone to plan so far as he builds up match fitness following almost a year out of action.

He played just 89 minutes of football across the entirety of 2023, with the 28-year-old falling out of favour at previous club Nottingham Forest amid several injuries before his release.

After three substitute appearances for FC Seoul, he missed out entirely on the side's 1-1 draw at Gangwon on Sunday with an apparent knee problem.

But manager Kim Gi-dong has now again sent a warning about Lingard's future participation for the club.

He said (quotes via Daily Mail): "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. If he doesn't fit, and doesn't run better than the player who runs for 90 minutes?"

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Kim's comments come two weeks after he criticised Lingard following his performance in FC Seoul's 2-0 win over Jeju.

The midfielder came on for the final 30 minutes, but his manager was less than impressed.

Despite stating that he showed 'good moves a few times', Kim added (via Korea Joongang Daily): "He only played a few minutes, and yet he didn't work hard and avoided tussle.

"Fame doesn't win football games. If it did, I would have brought in a famous retired player. As we have not spent a long time together yet, I don't think he showed the performance from his glory days."