Jesse Lingard joins Nottingham Forest on free transfer

Former Manchester United attacker Jesse Lingard has agreed to join Nottingham Forest on a one-year deal after seeing his contract at Old Trafford end in June, via David Ornstein. He rarely featured for the Red Devils in the last couple seasons, and it was long expected that he would leave when his contract expired. He will stay in the Premier League, hoping to aid Forest’s efforts to stay up after earning promotion from the Championship last season.

Forest, managed by Steve Cooper, have had a busy Summer preparing for their first stay in the Premier League since the 1998/99 season. Most of their additions have been defensive, including a loan move for Manchester United keeper Dean Henderson, but Lingard adds some attacking versatility to the squad now alongside incoming forward Taiwo Awoniyi.

Lingard was an exciting Academy prospect for United early in his career, and established himself as an important first teamer for three seasons before eventually dropping out of first team plans. A loan move to West Ham United presented the London club as a potential suitor for his services last summer, but a deal never came to fruition due to disagreement over transfer fee and the player’s desire to earn back a spot in the first team.

In his time at United Lingard helped the team win three major trophies, an FA Cup, an EFL Cup, and the UEFA Europa League. He was pivotal in each campaign, and scored at Wembley in the FA Cup and EFL Cup victories, as well as in a Community Shield victory in 2016.