Sources: Saudi Arabian club lead chance to sign £200,000-a-week Nottingham Forest star Jesse Lingard
Nottingham Forest midfielder Jesse Lingard is on the radar of Saudi Arabian and Major League Soccer clubs, sources have told Football Insider.
The 30-year-old playmaker is currently at Nottingham Forest after signing a one-year deal with the newly-promoted Premier League outfit last summer.
But Football Insider sources revealed on Sunday (12 March) that Forest are not willing to offer Lingard a new deal and will part ways with him this summer.
It is understood that Saudi Arabian clubs have the best chance of signing Lingard once he becomes a free agent, with his high wage demands not an issue.
As reported by The Guardian, Lingard’s one-year deal at Forest is worth close to £200,000-a-week – a figure Saudi clubs are happy to match next season.
Clubs in England and the MLS are also interested in signing Lingard on a free transfer, but negotiations over wages will be complicated, with no teams wanting to match his current lucrative deal.
Lingard has failed to score or assist for Forest in 16 top-flight appearances this season, and he’s played just 63 minutes of football since the start of 2023.
A hamstring injury saw him miss three games in January, but Lingard failed to reintegrate himself in Steve Cooper’s plans once he returned to full fitness.
He has played twice in Forest’s last seven matches and was substituted off at half-time during the 3-1 loss to Tottenham on Saturday afternoon.
In other news, Football Insider sources reveal Nottingham Forest agree transfer deal with special break clause