Jesse Lingard has admitted he is "excited" about his upcoming return to Manchester United after leaving Old Trafford for good last summer after 22 years on the Red Devils' books.
The 30-year-old saw his United contract come to an end and there was little interest from either party when it came to a renewal. In turn, he now dons the red of recently-promoted Nottingham Forest instead. After a slow start at the City Ground, Lingard started to show an upturn in form prior to the World Cup break.
His next Premier League outing comes in the form of a trip to his old stomping ground on December 27 as Forest try to dent United's bid for a top-four finish this term while also trying to lift themselves out of the relegation zone.
Lingard has opened up on how it will feel to come back to United as an opposition player while talking to The Athletic, explaining: "I am excited about going back to Old Trafford. I will go there wanting to win — that is the most important thing. It will be emotional on one front.
However, he stopped short of becoming too sentimental as he added Forest getting a result is the most important thing on the night.
"But we have a job to do, if we can get three points, that is the most important thing. I will look forward to catching up with a lot of people after the game. But I want to do that after a win."
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The former England regular eventually opened up on the reasons behind his United departure, citing a lack of game-time under both Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his interim predecessor Ralf Rangnick.
"I wanted to play regular football. It is hard sitting on the bench. It was my time to move on. I knew it would benefit me, if I moved to Nottingham. I had lots of conversations with the owners; with the Marinakis family. They showed a lot of love towards me. You have to go into a team where you feel wanted."
The suggestion that Lingard was unwanted at United certainly rings true, especially focusing on his last full campaign at the club.
Having impressed on loan at West Ham over the course of the second-half of the 2020/21 season, Lingard returned to Old Trafford having played his way back into the England set-up but failed to do the same for the Red Devils.
He spent the majority of the campaign on the bench, well down the pecking order of the plethora of attackers United boasted at the time.
This next league contests presents Lingard with the chance to get his revenge against a side that arguably wasted his talent while at the peak of his powers.
