Given a chance, Jesse Lingard once again shows his value

It's not always been easy for Jesse Lingard but once again he has shown how valuable he can be to England and maybe even Manchester United.

The 28-year-old scored twice against Andorra on Sunday as a much-changed Three Lions side made it five wins from five in World Cup qualifying Group I.

Not all goals are created equal of course and both against the world's 154th-ranked side were far easier than many that have come before them.

But Lingard showed again the value of a player of his type can be to a tournament squad.

Gareth Southgate left him out of the 26-man group that went all the way to the final of Euro 2020 back in July but has always been a fan.

There are more talented and eye-catching players to choose from of course, but his blend of tireless workrate, tactical flexibility and a knack for adding goals from midfield are all qualities that the England boss looks for.

What could work against him, however, is just how many minutes he will be getting outside of the international setup between now and the World Cup next winter.

Lingard shone on loan at West Ham during the second half of last season scoring nine goals in just 16 appearances as the Hammers stormed into Europe.

Many expected him to make that move permanent but with the transfer window now come and gone, another spell at United - until January at the very least - awaits.

The Red Devils already boasted one of the best attacking groups in the country with the likes of England teammates Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho alongside Mason Greenwood, Edinson Cavani and Anthony Martial.

And that was before Cristiano Ronaldo made his headline-grabbing return to Old Trafford on deadline day.

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Southgate though sounds positive about his chances of keeping a place in his squad going forward.

"That's a situation that we've had with different players over a long period with England," he said after Sunday's game. "It's not so long ago that the number of English players playing in the league was really low and we were having to pick players that either weren't regulars in their team, or perhaps were out on loan.

"We picked Mason (Mount) for the first time when he was in the Championship, so we've had to be creative on that.

"We know that Jesse has got a challenge, he knows he has got a challenge with the quality of the attacking players at United, but they've also got a lot of matches and different competitions. So hopefully he can take that challenge on and he will take that challenge on.

"He's really rebounded brilliantly in the last 12 months or so from a tough period and he showed again today that he's got quality.

"It's not necessarily the quality of the opponent, it's being able to perform within a group of very talented players that we have and stand out.

"I think that shows you the level that he's capable of from today's performance."

The two goals at Wembley were Lingard's first international strikes since November 2018 when he was far more of a regular fixture in the national side.

Even with the raft of attacking options at Southgate's disposal, there does appear a route back to that again for Lingard, one he is keen to take starting with the qualifying clash with Poland on Wednesday.

"It's always a great feeling scoring for your country," he said. "They're the moments that you don't forget and of course the team helped me today with that. It feels amazing. It's always amazing to put on an English shirt but to score and do well for your country is perfect.

"I thought the lads played well today, it was a professional performance and we go again against Poland."

Lingard will hope he gets the chance to show what he can do again, both with his club and with his country.