‘Frustrated’ Lingard makes ruthless call, could wait for Henderson lifeline after Scholes prompt

Former Man Utd forward Jesse Lingard has sacked his agents as he continues to seek a new club, with the future of Jordan Henderson potentially pivotal.

Lingard has been a free agent since the summer, when his one-year contract with Nottingham Forest expired and neither party entertained a renewal after 20 largely forgettable games.

Despite spending time training with West Ham, for whom he scored nine goals in 16 games on loan in 2020/21, there has been little movement in terms of permanent employment for the England international.

Everton have also been linked with Lingard, who has taken the drastic measure of parting with his team of agents – some of whom are family members.

Lingard ‘has grown very frustrated’ and thus decided to end the “complex long-term agreement” on Friday, according to Sky Sports, who add that the player is ‘open to any possibilities, with playing football his number one priority’.

This is despite reports this summer suggesting talks with Saudi Arabian side Al-Ettifaq collapsed at least in part due to salary demands.

Lingard was thought to be asking for around £7m a year to move to the league and join the ambitious summer recruitment drive which saw the Middle East attract some of the sport’s biggest names.

Among those was Jordan Henderson, the marquee signing for Al-Ettifaq on eye-watering wages, who has since decided he’d rather return to Europe actually thanks, his brave humanitarian work obviously complete.

READ MORE: Jordan Henderson bumwash has trashed his reputation in five Saudi Arabian months

Al-Ettifaq want the entirety of Henderson’s wages covered in the event of a loan departure, and a significant profit on the £12m or so they spent to sign the Liverpool captain in the summer.

That could theoretically free up the money for Steven Gerrard to pursue one of the signings he has demanded a side steered capably to 8th makes this January.

Any Henderson departure would remove another obstacle for Lingard in terms of the league’s foreign players rule, with plans in place to increase that quota in the future to attract more names.

It is unclear whether Lingard would even entertain a renewal of talks with Al-Ettifaq or indeed a move to any Saudi side, as Sky cite a source close to the 31-year-old as saying ‘he just wants to play football and is not driven by money’.

Lingard has been on ‘a strict training regime’ during his time out, which has attracted a couple of jabs from Paul Scholes.

It might be safe to say those comments have been more in jest, however, considering Scholes once revealed Lingard to be one of his Man Utd moles.

“It’s an absolute mess,” Scholes said of his former club in April 2022. “It’s a disaster of a dressing room. I had a quick chat with Jesse the other day. I’m sure he won’t mind me saying: that dressing room is a disaster.”