Nottingham Forest midfielder Jesse Lingard has been told that he needs to provide ‘more production’ for the team as they look to turn around their season.
The Reds fell to the bottom of the table on Monday night thanks to a 4-0 loss against Leicester City. The defeat was the fifth in a row for Steve Cooper’s men and continued a poor run of form from before the international break.
Lingard was one of many signings in the summer transfer window as Cooper looked to build a side capable of challenging in the Premier League. His arrival at the City Ground prompted a lot of excitement after the player impressed during a loan spell at Manchester United. .
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The 29-year-old is yet to register a goal or an assist for Forest in his seven Premier League appearances. His miscontrol on the edge of his own area also led to Leicester’s opening goal.
Ahead of the Premier League clash against Aston Villa, the former Manchester United man, with another of Forest’s new signings, have been told that they need to step up and provide for the team.
“I know they’ve had a couple of tough games in there, I fully understand that, the likes of (Manchester) City and Tottenham,” former Premier League striker Darren Bent told TalkSPORT. “They’ve got to be better, but he’s (Steve Cooper) a very good coach.
“But they need more production from some of their players, like Morgan Gibbs-White, they spent £26 million on him, no goals at all. Jesse Lingard, I know they got him on a free, but they give him an awful lot of money and with his experience and what he’s done in the Premier League and what he did in his last loan spell at West Ham, there’s got to be more from Jesse Lingard, he’s playing like a shell of himself.”
The pundit also sent a warning to Forest fans, with a suggestion that the Reds will have to change their style of play in order to improve their form in the league.
“But I think Steve Cooper, give him a bit more time, I’m so glad that he’s got that new contract because I think he deserves that,” he added. “Even if they now come away from the way that he wants to play - expansive, play good football, they might have to be really, really hard to play against.
“It might not be enjoyable for the next few games, but if it gets them results and then the confidence starts to come back flowing again, then they can revert back to what he wants to do. But right now, they’ve got to find a way to be more difficult to play against.”
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