Nottingham Forest are close to securing a sensational deal to sign ex-Manchester United star Jesse Lingard, The Telegraph reports.
The 29-year-old is a free agent after walking away from Old Trafford at the end of the 2021/22 campaign.
Lingard opted to stick around at United last season; despite starring during the second half of 2020/21 at West Ham.
The Hammers are also keen on the versatile forward. They’ve made an offer to the player alongside Forest who have entered the race.
It seems Forest are close to getting their man though. Reports late last night claimed that Evangelos Marinakis has made a late bid to bring Lingard to Nottingham.
Forest are desperate to bolster their attacking ranks. Philip Zinckernagel and Lewis Grabban have both departed the club and that leaves the squad light.
Lingard is a very experienced player and he made over 200 appearances during his time with United.
He also stole the show during his 16-game loan spell with West Ham; scoring nine times and picking up five assists.
Lingard would complete an intriguing triple if he signed for Forest. He’s also featured for both Derby County and Leicester City on loan and completing the East Midlands treble awaits.
The former Red Devils player has earned praise in the past. During his time at West Ham, he was called ‘amazing’ by Rio Ferdinand.
Forest close to securing Lingard deal
This would be a remarkable piece of business for Forest to consider, although there are perhaps pros and cons.
The pros are obvious. Lingard is a quality player, as he proved, at West Ham, and on a free transfer, it’d be a coup.
He has 32 caps to his name for England and with the World Cup on the horizon, he’d have a massive point to prove.
There are some concerns, however, not least the fact that Lingard would command a huge wage.
Forest won’t pay him his desired £180,000-a-week but he won’t exactly come cheap by the time his salary and signing fees have been taken into consideration.
Still, the pros probably do outweigh the cons and this would be a truly sensational achievement if Forest can get over the line.
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