Jesse Lingard has had enough of Manchester United as he seeks exit from Premier League club - The Warm-Up

If you've turned on the television recently, or walked past a shop, chances are you've noticed that Christmas is coming. And you know what that means, right? It means that once we've got all that nonsense with the tree and the presents out of the way, the most wonderful time of the year can begin: The January Transfer Window.

Jesse Lingard is already in the mood. According to reports, contract talks with Manchester United have collapsed and he'll be on his way as soon as possible. Maybe even on loan in January, before his current deal expires in the summer. That noise you can hear is David Moyes grabbing a towel and his mobile phone.

Shouldn't this have happened last summer? Well, yes. Clearly. Lingard returned to Manchester United after his excellent loan spell at West Ham United with, apparently, every intention of fighting for his place. Thoroughly laudable. But that does suggest that he was told, at some point along the line, that there would be a place to fight for. Oh look, here's Ole Gunnar Solskjær last July.

You've spotted the problem there already. "Plans". The best laid of them go oft awry, and we have no reason to think United are among the best layers of them. All the preseason talk of a 4-3-3 that never materialised, the opportunistic purchase of Cristiano Ronaldo, this panicked move to a back five … from top to bottom, United are making it up as they go along.

Which is why Lingard, who could have been amicably moved on for a tidy sum last summer, will try and agitate his way out this winter. By the time we cut the big yellow ribbon on the January window, the next World Cup will be less than a year away. Lingard, still only 28 and theoretically somewhere near his prime, knows that Gareth Southgate still rates and trusts him. He also knows that he needs to be playing football. And we're going to guess that he won't be the only very good footballer desperately trying to claw their way out of the Old Trafford quicksand this January.

Until then, he'll spend the rest of his time at United sitting alongside Donny van de Beek and Anthony Martial and (for the moment) Jadon Sancho in the Went Shopping Without A List & Panicked section of the substitutes' bench. It's a comfy spot. Edinson Cavani pops in from time to time. Dean Henderson's been round for tea.

Where will Lingard go? Almost wherever he wants to. We're assuming that West Ham, currently six points and three places above Manchester United in the table, would be happy to take him back. We're guessing that Eddie Howe thinks he'd look pretty good in black and white. We're speculating, for no real reason other than it would be quite funny and he did play at wing-back once, that Antonio Conte could find a use for him.

But then, what club in the Premier League or in Europe couldn't? He's a versatile, hard-working attacking midfielder that knows, as they say, where the goal is, and furthermore knows how to kick the ball into it. You'd think Manchester United would be able to work something out, what with him being right there. But no. This month's plan has no place for him, last month's plan is a distant memory, and next month's plan? That's next month's problem.

To the actual football, and Group A of the women's Champions League is bubbling up nicely. Last night Wolfsburg, quarter-finalists last season and runners-up the season before, were overturned 2-0 at home by Juventus. That leaves the German side in third place, two points behind the Italians and in real danger of not making the knockouts at all.

Group A: the A stands for "Aaaaargh."

There was a healthy dollop of fortune involved in Juventus' win, not least the opening goal, which came via the oddly-angled hip of defender Kathrin Hendrich. But there were much larger dollops of excellent defending and real threat on the break, which all piles up into a delicious sundae of well-deserved victory.

This was the biggest win of Joe Montemurro's time in Italy so far, and it was precisely the sort of performance he was brought in to oversee. And it wasn't just a question of three points or a good performance: this win, along with last week's last-minute equaliser, gives Juve the head-to-head advantage over Wolfsburg.

If both Juve and Wolfsburg beat Servette — who looked much improved against Chelsea last night, losing by just one goal rather than seven — then Wolfsburg will need to beat Chelsea and hope Juventus lose. The wrinkle there is that the Italians play Chelsea away, in London, while Wolfsburg get to play their must-win last game at home.

Or, of course, if both teams win both their last games, defeating Chelsea twice in the process, then it's the Londoners that will miss out on the knockouts. And wouldn't that be a twist? Group A! Actually, the A stands for "Aaahhhh, so many possibilities, my head hurts."

By the time you read this, Melbourne City and Brisbane Roar will have kicked off the new A-League season. Why not celebrate with this collection of delicious bangers from Down Under. We particularly recommend the scorpion.

Football is a sport of generational connections. Each players hands his skills on to the next, and so on through time. Johan Cruyff, for example, achieved many things in his great career, but surely none better than inspiring a young John O'Shea to practice turn after turn after turn. And then he passed his wisdom on to the man of the moment, Jesse Lingard.

Over to the Athletic's Daniel Taylor today, who has been digging into the science behind the following startling statistic: a man collapses on a football pitch once every four days. He's been talking to medical professionals to assess whether the risk of cardiac arrest in football is increasing.

Back to the club game, just in time for winter. We've got QPR vs. Luton in the Championship, Levante vs. Athletic in La Liga, Monaco vs. Lille in Ligue 1, and Augsburg vs. Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga. Choose your fighter.