03 February 2024 , 16:34
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Former Manchester United player Jesse Lingard may not have played a competitive match for nine months but sources in his camp have claimed that he has 26 clubs interested in securing his services.
It was reported on Thursday that the 31-year-old, who was released as a free agent by Nottingham Forest at the end of last season having reportedly become their best-paid player, was closing in on a move to South Korean club Seoul FC.
But suggestions a move had been agreed were premature and he is still weighing up an offer. And insiders claim that more than two dozen clubs remain keen on giving him a route back into the game.
Lingard has previously said that he was looking for a “project” that would fit his own plans. He had been linked with a return to West Ham, for whom he impressed on loan three years ago, but he disappeared following a spell training with David Moyes ’ team in east London.
Lingard also spent time training with Major League Soccer teams, while rumours of interest from sides in Saudi Arabia did not materialise into firm offers. He has won 32 England caps but a career packed with promise has not kicked on.
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Last season Lingard was offered support after opening up on his struggles with depression in a documentary. He said that he would turn to alcohol as a coping mechanism when his level of performance dropped and spoke of the impact social media criticism was having on him.
“I was on autopilot,” Lingard said at the time. “I was having conversations with people and I was just like: ‘Yeah. OK. Yeah.’ Nothing would register. It would go in one ear and out the other. I was numb and I wanted to be in that numb state where I didn’t have to feel anything.”
David de Gea left Manchester United last June (Getty Images)Meanwhile, his former team-mate at Old Trafford David de Gea turned down an offer to join Nottingham Forest for the second half of the season.
The ex-Spain international has been a free agent since leaving United at the end of last season because head coach Erik ten Hag did not think he was equipped to play his desired style. De Gea has also turned down several offers as he holds out for a playing role at a major European club.