Former Manchester United player Jesse Lingard might be the next Premier League star to join the Saudi league.
After leaving Nottingham Forest at the end of last season, the England international is training with Saudi club Al-Ettifaq as a free agent.
Al-Ettifaq is coached by Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard and recently signed England midfielder Jordan Henderson.
Jesse Lingard has started training with Saudi side Al Ettifaq – with Steven Gerrard as coach 🟢🇸🇦 pic.twitter.com/isZeVEI0FF
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 28, 2023
“I’ve watched him for many years so I’m aware of the talent,” Gerrard told Al Arabiya’s sports program FilMarma.
“Jesse is out of a club at the moment, he is not contracted. So he’s free to train with anyone else. So he’s coming to use our facilities, he’s coming to train with our players, to maintain his fitness.
“Jesse knows there’s an opportunity for him to try to convince us to come to the club.”
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The Saudi league has embarked on a spectacular spending spree this year by luring some of soccer’s biggest stars to the oil-rich kingdom.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Karim Benzema and Sadio Mane have made the move from Europe’s biggest leagues, and a slew of other top players have followed suit.
The 30-year-old Lingard graduated from United’s academy and left the club in 2022. He signed a one-year contract with Forest and has been a free agent since that deal expired.
Lingard has also trained with West Ham this season. He had a successful loan spell at the London club in 2021 on loan from Manchester United.
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