Ex-Man Utd star who ‘agreed’ Newcastle United transfer set for shock deadline day move

Former Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard is set to join FC Seoul in South Korea. Lingard has been a free agent since leaving Nottingham Forest at the end of last season and is set to sign a two year deal with the K-League outfit ahead of the South Korean football season which is due to get underway in March.

Lingard had trained with West Ham during the summer and was reportedly close to joining Steven Gerrard’s Al Ettifaq, however, neither move materialised and he has spent the last six months as a free agent. His time at the City Ground resulted in just 20 appearances in all competitions as injuries and bad form meant he finished the season without registering a single goal or assist.

Two years ago, the 31-year-old was close to joining Newcastle United late in the winter window, but saw a proposed move to Tyneside pulled by Manchester United in the final stages. Reflecting on that failed move to the north east, Lingard told the Diary of a CEO Podcast: “I wanted to go on loan again in January because I wasn’t playing again. Newcastle was on the cards in January. The deal was done - everything - but the [Manchester] United squad was not big enough.

“A couple of players went out on loan and when it came to me, John Murtough [Manchester United director of football] rang me and was like, ‘no, you’re not going on loan.’ I was like, ‘he’s on loan. Let me go and enjoy my football. I’m not playing here so let me go on loan.”