This is the issue I have with him though...is he a defensive attacking midfielder, useful for his pressing? Because his goals stats don't back up the idea of him as a particularly good finisher. I also can't forget the amount of time he's spent hiding and, as soon as he gets the ball, popping it off to the nearest person like he's terrified.
To my mind he’s most suitable as the attacking midfielder who operates off of a target man. So for a mid table side he is maybe the biggest goal threat in the way that say Tim Cahill played for Everton (Lingard would score more with his feet than head obviously).
Again though, all of Lingards flaws are particularly highlighted when playing for a ‘better’ side. The simplicity of his passing and directness are good attributes in lesser teams. They are not good attributes when breaking down low blocks.
Also, judging Lingard by his stats is tricky. He was a late bloomer and so only really came with into the side at 22-23 and he has never been a guaranteed starter. Going by the eye test he seems to be a good striker of the ball which you can see by the number of long range goals he has scored (out of the goals he has scored).
One of Ole’s biggest achievements has been identifying early which players don’t really suit his vision. Fellaini, Smalling & Lukaku all were moved on due to their poor technique. Lingard has stuck around longer in part because he was younger and seemed happy to play a bit part role but it does seem Ole recognised he needed a more technically proficient no 10 to play that role for us.