Rangers and West Ham linked attacker Jesse Lingard has seen a Saudi move to Al Ettifaq and Steven Gerrard collapse over finances.
That’s according to the Mirror, who claim that the ex-England international’s wage demands are currently too high for the Saudi Pro League side to pay.
The report claims that following a trial period in Saudi Arabia, Al Ettifaq are not set to offer Jesse Lingard a deal because the ex-Manchester United star’s wage demands are “above what the club are prepared to offer”.
Al Ettifaq would also need to reshape their squad to accommodate Jesse Lingard due to Saudi Pro League quotas with two of the club’s international players having to be released by January to complete a deal.
Ex-Rangers boss Steven Gerrard had offered Jesse Lingard the chance at Al Ettifaq but now it appears the attacker will not be moving to the Middle East.
It comes following the now 30-year-old ex-England international’s release from Nottingham Forest at the end of last season, with former Ibrox director Ross Wilson central to the decision at the City Ground.
The Rangers links to the Jesse Lingard situation don’t end there either with rumours aplenty in the summer regarding potential Ibrox interest in the free-agent.
Saudi move for Rangers-linked Jesse Lingard now off the table
Both Rangers and Celtic were infamously linked to Jesse Lingard back in the January of 2021 but the attacking midfielder opted instead to move on loan to West Ham.
That successful loan spell saw the Hammers and David Moyes offer Jesse Lingard a trial shot in the summer but the winger failed to prove his fitness and value in East London.
Rangers’ rumoured interest in the player even had leading Ibrox insiders Four Lads Had a Dream quizzing the club on a potential Jesse Lingard move towards the end of the transfer window.
Former Rangers manager Michael Beale had fuelled speculation by claiming the Gers had not yet replaced the influence of Ryan Kent in the summer transfer window.
But with Jesse Lingard seemingly setting his wage demands even too high for Saudi tastes, any suggestion Rangers could ever have moved appears in the realm of fantasy.
Jesse Lingard isn’t the only outlandish free-agent link from the summer either.
