Lingard, in the final six months of his contract at Manchester United, is a loan target for the relegation-threatened club, which has already signed Kieran Trippier and Chris Wood in this month’s transfer window.

Rangnick was asked about 29-year-old Lingard’s future after last night’s 3-1 win over Brentford.

“Obviously, he needs to play and train on that kind of level (so) that he’s an option to start,” said Rangnick. “We have a big squad, maybe a little bit too big of a squad. And, as far as I know, his contract is expiring in the summer, and the question is what will happen after that four months? Again, he’s a player who can play.

“I brought him on in the last 10 minutes of the Villa game, together with Donny van de Beek, and he’ll probably not be available for tomorrow because he didn’t train yesterday and the day before yesterday.”