MANCHESTER: Former Manchester United player Jesse Lingard could be the next Premier League star to join the Saudi Arabian league.
The England international, who is a free agent, is training with Saudi club Al-Ettifaq after leaving Nottingham Forest at the end of the last season.
Al-Ettifaq is coached by Liverpool great Steven Gerrard and signed England midfielder Jordan Henderson in the offseason. “I’ve watched him for many years so I’m aware of the talent,” Gerrard told Al Arabiya’s sports program FilMarma. “Jesse is out of a club at the moment, he is not contracted, so he’s free to train with anyone else.
So he’s coming to use our facilities, he’s coming to train with our players, to maintain his fitness. “Jesse knows there’s an opportunity for him to try to convince us to come to the club.” The Saudi league has embarked on a spectacular spending spree this year by luring some of soccer’s biggest stars to the oil-rich kingdom.