Jesse Lingard will not be joining when his contract expires this summer, and instead will likely move abroad in an effort to rejuvenate his stalled career.
According to the Telegraph, the 29-year-old winger was under consideration as a potential summer singing by Magpies boss Eddie Howe, after he tried to sign the Warrington-born player on loan in January. But now that Lingard will be available for free on a permanent basis, the report says the club are reluctant to make a player on the verge of his 30s their highest-paid footballer.
The North East outfit purchased three players in their 30s in January in Kieran Trippier, Chris Wood, and Dun Burn, in an effort to ensure Premier League survival and are believed to want to add younger personnel to their ranks now that goal has been achieved.
Newcastle will put fringe players including Matt Ritchie, Ciaran Clark, Karl Darlow, Federico Fernandez, Isaac Hayden, Jeff Hendrick and Dwight Gayle up for sale in summer in order to free up squad space, as they no doubt look to spend big once again having been taken over by a Saudi Arabian-government linked private investment fund last autumn.
For Lingard, meanwhile, a move to Europe beckons with several Italian clubs interested in securing his services. Lingard previously worked under Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford and the Portuguese has signed various ex-Premier League players for his current AS Roma team, including Rui Patricio, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Tammy Abraham.
Lingard spent an impressive six-month loan spell at West Ham United at the beginning of 2021 which seemed to have put his career back on track, as he scored nine goals in 16 appearances and secured a return to the England setup.
Since remaining at Old Trafford last summer determined to regain a spot in the first-team, though, think haven’t worked out as Lingard would have hoped.
He hardly featured under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer before the Norwegian was sacked following the defeat at Watford in November, while appearances under interim replacement Ralf Rangnick have also been sporadic.
Incoming manager Erik ten Hag will no doubt be looking to significantly overhaul United’s underperforming squad this summer, with the team sitting sixth in the Premier League table with one match remaining.
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