Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard will take some tips into the new season from Brazil great Ronaldinho.
Lingard impressed during England’s run to the semi-finals of the World Cup in Russia, scoring a stunning goal during the 6-1 group-stage demolition of Panama.
United have endured an unhappy pre-season to date, with Jose Mourinho’s under-manned squad struggling in their International Champions Cup matches as the Portuguese waits for his World Cup stars to return.
Lingard is one of those enjoying an extended break in Miami but found the time to tap into the knowledge of one of the modern era’s most celebrated players.
Alongside a picture with Ronaldinho posted on Lingard’s Instagram account, the 25-year-old wrote: “Thanks for the advice #goat.”
Lingard and Marcus Rashford have been holidaying together and the latter posted on social media, showing them preparing to train.
United face Real Madrid in their final ICC match before hosting Leicester City in the Premier League opener on August 10.
Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard, who travelled to Miami last weekend and are expected to hook up with their United team-mates later this week. The pair have been working on their fitness away from United’s training base since arriving in the US and again made use of Miami’s sandy beaches to go for a morning run on Tuesday.
The pair spent some time in Los Angeles with their close-knit group of friends – including international team-mate Danny Welbeck – after starring at the World Cup for England this summer.
But after some much needed respite, the duo seem raring to go again and are hoping to show Mourinho what he has been missing this summer in the back end of their pre-season tour.
It will come as music to Mourinho’s ears, who has repeatedly spoken about how detrimental the absence of some of his first-team players has been to their pre-season preparations.
The United boss delivered a scathing assessment of his squad after the 4-1 defeat against Liverpool and is unhappy by the lack of support he has been given in the transfer market this summer.
Lingard is already in Mourinho’s plans for next season but Rashford has some work to do to turn his manager’s head, having mainly been used from the bench last term.
The fact he is going the extra mile by working on his fitness away from the squad’s training sessions will only aid his battle for a regular starting berth.
Wednesday’s friendly against Real Madrid may come too soon for the pair, but they are likely to get the opportunity to lay down a marker and give their boss something to smile about when United face Bayern Munich at the weekend.
The Portuguese tactician is however still determined to dip into the market and bring a fresh face in to his squad before the window slams shut in 10 days’ time.