Ex-Man Utd ace Jesse Lingard joins new club for a month as he trains with legend

JESSE LINGARD has joined Steven Gerrard at Saudi Arabian side Al-Ettifaq.

The former Manchester United star is a free agent after leaving Nottingham Forest.

And he will link up with Liverpool legend Gerrard for the next month on a training basis.

Fabrizio Romano adds that if Lingard impresses during his effective trial, he could end up joining Al-Ettifaq permanently.

Lingard, 30, remains without a club despite his Forest contract ending in June.

He scored twice in 20 appearances for Steve Cooper’s side.

And Lingard has since been training with former loan side West Ham, where he previously netted nine times in 16 games.

However, an offer to rejoin David Moyes’ side has not materialised.

And Lingard could now become the fifth ex-Premier League star to link up with Gerrard, who has settled into his new life by wearing traditional garb on Saudi National day.

Former Liverpool duo Jordan Henderson and Gini Wijnaldum, ex-Everton winger Demarai Gray and one-time Fulham star Moussa Dembele all ply their trade under Gerrard.

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Al-Ettifaq have enjoyed a strong start to the new Saudi season, winning five of their opening seven matches.

Lingard will now train with them for the next month in a bid to prove his fitness.

And should all parties come to an agreement, the 32-time England international could end up penning a contract to join the Middle Eastern giants permanently.

Should a transfer arise, Lingard will be hoping to finally recapture his previous form at United.

Working his way up from the academy, the versatile midfielder ended up scoring 35 goals in 232 games before departing for free in 2022.

Lingard’s last international appearance for England came a year before that.

But a wildcard spot in Gareth Southgate’s squad at next summer’s Euros seems unlikely, despite Al-Ettifaq’s Henderson continuing to turn out for the Three Lions.

Earlier this month, Hammers boss David Moyes admitted he was giving Lingard every chance to get himself fit.

He said: “Jesse has trained with us for three weeks and he’s improved greatly from when he first came in.

“He’s in really good condition – much better condition than he was when he first came in.

“I have to say, when Jesse joined us two years ago I think he scored nine goals in 15 games and was probably the difference between us getting into Europe for the first time.

“I want to give him every opportunity to get himself back in condition and see how he does.

“So there’s no real update on it at the moment, just to say that he’s back and getting much closer to the levels of fitness where you’d hope he would be.”