Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper has decided to get rid of Jesse Lingard in the summer, according to Football Insider. The Reds signed the man who won the FA Cup with Manchester United in 2016 on a one-year deal during the summer transfer window.
Lingard rocking up at the City Ground came as something of a surprise. West Ham thought they’d managed to convince their former loanee to return to the London Stadium but it wasn’t to be.
The 30-year-old was instead wooed by Miltiadis Marinakis and chose to sign for the Reds. It didn’t go down well in East London and he was booed by the Hammers faithful when Forest played them last month.
Lingard hasn’t really cut the mustard at Forest. He’s only registered one goal and two assists, with two of those contributions coming in the Carabao Cup game against Tottenham.
At 30, Lingard will hope to continue playing regular football. He’s found that hard to come by of late in the Forest team and now Cooper has made his mind up about the forward.
It’s claimed in the report that he’s told the club that Lingard won’t be in his plans going forward. As a result, he believes that it’s the best thing for everyone if he’s offloaded in the summer.
Rio Ferdinand has previously praised Lingard. He played with him at United and called him ‘amazing’ when he was flying for West Ham on loan.
Forest boss Cooper has decided to get rid of Lingard
This wouldn’t come as a major surprise. Lingard has struggled for a consistent run and since the World Cup, he’s struggled with a number of niggling injuries that have hampered his progress.
Lingard looks to be running out of chances to convince the Forest supporters. Although he tries his heart out in every game, he’s sadly been found wanting when it comes to goal contributions.
The forward is a great character and Cooper has enjoyed working with him as he often expresses in the media. It does feel like the summer could be the right time to break the connection between Lingard and Forest, however.