Jesse Lingard can seal Man Utd reunion as star decides on next club | Football | Sport

Free agent Jesse Lingard has been linked with a move to Feyenoord, where former Manchester United team-mate Robin van Persie is now head coach. The 33-year-old is looking for a new club after his contract with South Korean side FC Seoul expired in December. The ex-United midfielder spent almost two years in the K League, making 67 appearances for Seoul, netting 19 goals and registering 10 assists. Lingard is now seeking fresh opportunities elsewhere.

Throughout the January transfer window, the 32-cap England international was in discussions with various clubs across England and Italy. However, Dutch heavyweights Feyenoord have now joined the race following a crushing injury setback. According to the Daily Mail, Van Persie is eager to reunite with Lingard. This comes after Feyenoord youngster and Van Persie’s son, Shaqueel, sustained what looked to be a serious injury a week ago.

“It’s not looking good,” Van Persie confessed following Feyenoord’s 2-1 defeat away to Real Betis in the Europa League. “Tests have to point out how he’s doing, but the first signs are not looking good.

“You hold your heart when any player goes down with an injury. It happened to be Shaqueel today, that’s just how it is. You hope for the best, but when you hear the first signs that it isn’t it’s heartbreaking.

“I’m a coach, but I’m also his father and I find this terrible. It’s a bit of both. It’s heartbreaking that he’s going through this.”

Lingard was emerging in the United first-team whilst Van Persie was concluding his Old Trafford career around 2014. Although the duo never featured together in a competitive fixture, they did train alongside one another and over a decade later could be reunited in Rotterdam.

Lingard aims to finalise his next club by the end of next week. The midfielder most recently competed in Europe with Nottingham Forest during the 2022-23 campaign.

Forest became Lingard’s first permanent club after his departure from United, having not been offered fresh terms. In 2021, he enjoyed a successful loan stint with West Ham, who’ve also been linked with a potential move.

Speaking in his hometown of Warrington, Lingard recently told the Guardian that he’s ‘open’ to various countries for his next destination. “Europe, Saudi, UAE,” he noted.