Manchester United flop Jesse Lingard is without a club despite the 23/24 season already underway across most parts of the world. The ex-England international, 30, had a dismal spell at Nottingham Forest last season, scoring just two goals in 20 games for the club, despite being on massive wages following a free transfer.
To make matters worse for Lingard, the summer he joined Forest, he turned down the opportunity to return to West Ham, where he played the best football of his career, while on loan in the second half of the 20/21 season. The Hammers, of course, went on to lift the Uefa Europa Conference League, which would’ve sat pretty alongside Lingard’s UEFA Europa League winners’ medal.
After realizing his mistake following his departure from Forest earlier this year, free agent Lingard returned to West Ham to train and win a short-term contract. That failed to materialize and the player then went to Saudi to train with English legend Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq.
But Lingard’s best move could be back in England and under the management of a former Man Utd teammate, Wayne Rooney. The ex-DC United boss is set to take over at Birmingham City in the second tier of English soccer and has a proven track record of snapping up Premier League castoffs. The likes of Christian Benteke, Ravel Morrison, Mateusz Klich, and Lewis O’Brien all played under Rooney in the States.
Lingard isn’t unfamiliar with St Andrews either, having spent some time on loan there in 2013. and it was a rather successful spell, with Lingard netting six in just 13 games. Birmingham are also looking to make it back to the big time, the Premier League, following a soon-to-be 13-year absence and Lingard could be the poster boy for Midlands Club’s rise back to the top.
Should Rooney land at Birmingham and make a play to snatch Lingard from the jaws of Saudi, and the ridiculous riches on offer, it wouldn’t be the first time the 37-year-old has tried to sign the Red Devils academy product. Rooney and DC United were engaged in talks with Lingard in August/September but a move fell through due to contract demands.
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Rooney and Birmingham may encounter the same problem too. However, Birmingham, who welcomed NFL great Tom Brady on board this year as a minority owner, has reportedly offered to triple the salary that sacked manager John Eustace was on to get Rooney and could offer wriggle room in Lingard’s case.
It would require Lingard to do a lot of heavy lifting and recapture the frightening form that earned him a spot with England at the 2018 World Cup and an international recall while playing for the Hammers. He needs to rediscover his love for football and there’s no better place to do it in England, under the management of Rooney and at a team, like him, who have a chip on their shoulder and a point to prove.
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