Lingard signs a two-year contract with FC Seoul of South Korea; the contract is thought to have a third year of option; the 31-year-old was released by Nottingham Forest following a terrible run of play.
According to sources, Jesse Lingard, a former forward for Manchester United, has agreed to a two-year contract with FC Seoul in South Korea.
The thirty-one-year-old was released by Nottingham Forest at the end of the 2022–2023 season, and he hasn’t had a club since.
To stay fit, Lingard has trained with Steven Gerrard’s Al Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia and has also played for his old team, West Ham. However, no contract offer was made by either party, and the 32-cap England international was left hanging.
Unexpectedly, Lingard will now try to rebuild his career with FC Seoul, the six-time K League 1 champions. According to Sky Sports News, a two-year deal with a third option has been inked.
After completing the Manchester United academy, Lingard worked for the team for 22 years and made 232 appearances in all competitions for the first squad. After replacing Juan Mata in the second half of the 2016 FA Cup final against Crystal Palace, he scored the game-winning goal. In the 2017 EFL Cup final, he scored United’s second goal in a 3-2 victory over Southampton.
After a lack of first-team opportunities, Lingard decided to go on loan to West Ham United in January 2021, where he had four months of incredible success. He scored nine goals in 16 Premier League games for the Hammers, a return to career bests that many believed would result in a permanent move to London Stadium.
However, after discussing his future with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the manager of United at the time, Lingard decided to stay put and fight for his spot at Old Trafford—a battle he would never win. After his contract expired at the end of the 2021–2022 season, he was free to negotiate a lucrative one-year contract with newly promoted Forest, making him their highest paid player.
