|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
According to reports, JESSE LINGARD fled Al-Ettifaq after his trial, which lasted for a month.
The former Manchester United player was working out for the Saudi team in an attempt to land a deal.
Since leaving Nottingham Forest at the end of the previous season, Lingard, 30, has been a free agent.
After leaving the Red Devils, the midfielder played for a season at the City Ground, but he was unable to regain his peak performance.
He would have hoped to join Al-Ettifaq and follow in the footsteps of Demarai Gray and Jordan Henderson.
But despite a month of waiting, he has not received an offer to remain at the club.
According to reports, the Saudi organization’s budget was too tight to cover Lingard’s pay.
It is also alleged that the Saudi Pro League’s quota regulations would have forced the team to release two foreign players if they could have.
According to the sources, a deal is “not likely” to happen and that no pre-contract that would have allowed him to start in January has been given.
In an attempt to increase his fitness, Lingard had trained with West Ham during the summer.
After Lingard left for his trial with Al-Ettifaq, the Hammers lost interest in signing him.
Given that he played in a friendly held behind closed doors, it was believed that he would have rejoined the team that he had been on loan from.
Lingard’s lodging and travel costs totaled thousands of dollars while he was training alongside David Moyes.
Previously, Lingard played 16 games during the second half of the 2020–21 season while on loan at the London Stadium, where he scored nine goals and provided five assists.
Before departing in 2022, the free agent played for Man Utd for 20 years.