Free agent who once ‘agreed’ to join Newcastle United is training with West Ham United

Jesse Lingard is training at West Ham United as he searches for a new club following his release from Nottingham Forest.

After being let go by Manchester United last summer, Lingard signed a lucrative one-year deal with Forest but the move failed to have the desired impact.

Although the Reds retained their top-flight status, the 30-year-old played little part. Lingard featured 17 times in total but started only two games since Boxing Day. His last appearance was against Man United in mid-April.

The former England international has been linked with a move overseas with the player himself naming Saudi Arabia as a potential destination. But in the meantime, as per Sky Sports News, Lingard is training with West Ham “to keep his fitness up”.

Lingard enjoyed a successful loan spell at the London Stadium during the second half of the 2020-21 season, scoring nine times in 16 appearances. It claimed the “small possibility of short-term contract has not been ruled out”.

Lingard came close to joining Newcastle United on loan in January 2022. A deal between the Magpies and Lingard was agreed but Man United refused to sanction the move.

“I wanted to go on loan again in January because I wasn’t playing again,” Lingard told the Diary of a CEO podcast. “Newcastle was on the cards in January. The deal was done - everything - but the United squad was not big enough.

“A couple of players went out on loan and when it came to me, John Murtough [Manchester United director of football] rang me and was like, ‘no, you’re not going on loan.’ I was like, ‘he’s on loan. Let me go and enjoy my football. I’m not playing here so let me go on loan.

“I want to play football.’ He was like, ‘what do you want? Days off?’ I said, ‘no. I want to go play football.’ They stopped the loan, obviously I was p*.”

Lingard was frozen out by Ralf Rangnick for the second half of that season. Newcastle retained an interest in the following but weren’t willing to meet the player’s reported £200,000-per-week wage demands.