At the end of June of last year, the 31-year-old offensive midfielder signed a deal with Manchester United, his hometown team.
In the end, he agreed to a lucrative one-year contract paying an estimated £115,000 per week plus incentives with Nottingham Forest, the freshly promoted team.
However, after making just 17 Premier League appearances for Steve Cooper’s team and failing to record a single goal or assist, the former England international was let go in June.
Following his summer exit from the City Ground, Lingard has been connected to other teams, notably Al Ettifaq of the Saudi Pro League.
Actually, Lingard trained with Steven Gerrard’s team in September, but the move never happened because the parties involved allegedly couldn’t agree on pay terms.
Ahead of the January transfer window, the former West Ham loanee is still free to sign for any Premier League team, but things may have turned out rather differently had he done so.
The Athletic claims that after Lingard left Old Trafford last summer, four-year contracts were on the table from both Newcastle United and Fulham.
Rather than accepting the club’s offer of a two-year contract, he chose to sign a one-year contract with Nottingham Forest, and the rest is history.
As previously indicated, Lingard trained with Al Ettifaq of the Saudi Pro League throughout the summer, but it seems that pay demands created a roadblock.
The Manchester United academy product reportedly demanded about £7 million annually, which was far more than Al Ettifaq’s budget, which was reportedly closer to £4.35 million. This information was reported by talkSPORT.
Rather than accepting the club’s offer of a two-year contract, he chose to sign a one-year contract with Nottingham Forest, and the rest is history.
Lingard has mentioned moving to Saudi Arabia back in June. He stated, “I’m thinking about all the choices. I’ve never ruled out any team or club, so it’s just a matter of choosing the right one—and it has to be the right one for me.
“Saudi Arabia is making great strides, and it will be a popular destination in the coming years.”
Rather than accepting the club’s offer of a two-year contract, he chose to sign a one-year contract with Nottingham Forest, and the rest is history.
