Ralf Rangnick has asked his Manchester United players to maintain their conflicts within the club, but has brushed aside reports of a rupture with Jesse Lingard.
Lingard refuted Rangnick’s assertion that he requested a few days off last week to “clear his head” following the failure of a loan deal to Newcastle, claiming that United urged him to take time off for personal reasons.
Rangnick was contradicted by one of his players for the second time in four weeks, after Anthony Martial’s denial of Rangnick’s assertions that he refused to be included in Man United’s squad for last month’s Premier League game against Aston Villa. The two instances did nothing to alleviate the atmosphere of unease in the Old Trafford dressing room.
“It’s always better,” Rangnick said ahead of tonight’s Premier League game at Burnley.
“I never, ever read or communicate by those social media accounts. I don’t exist there and wouldn’t have time to do that, so it’s always better (to keep things in-house) and I always communicate with the players directly. I did that with Anthony Martial and Jesse, but maybe I’m a different kind of generation.
Ralf Rangnick
“It’s always better to communicate directly. I know in both cases what I said to the players.”
“With regard to Jesse, I have a very good relationship with him,” Rangnick added.
“He knows that I would have been willing to let him go [on loan], at least until the issue with Mason came up. He mentioned some personal issues, but there are no problems whatsoever between myself and Jesse, and vice versa.”
Jesse joins the squad:
Lingard has been included in the team to play Burnley, as has striker Edinson Cavani, who was also rested for Friday’s FA Cup fourth-round defeat to Middlesbrough.
The England attacker was refused a move to Newcastle in part because of the Mason Greenwood incident. Greenwood will be unable to play or practice until further notice following his release on bail last week for further investigation following his detention on suspicion of rape, sexual assault, and threats to murder.
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