Former Manchester United and England midfielder Jesse Lingard has reportedly agreed a one-year deal with Brazilian giants Corinthians, with an option to extend.
The 33-year-old has been a free agent since parting ways with South Korean side FC Seoul in December, and his next move has been one of the top stories of the winter window. MLS clubs came calling, so did sides from Spain, but he turned them all down.
Lingard reportedly flew out of London on Sunday, bound for Guarulhos International Airport in São Paulo. The medical is set for Monday, with the formal signing to follow immediately after, barring any complications.
It is a move that carries a certain poetry to it. Waiting for him in the Corinthians dressing room is Memphis Depay, his former teammate at Old Trafford.
The two shared the pitch 31 times during the 2015-16 season, and now they reunite at the Neo Química Arena, thousands of miles from where it all started.
Lingard’s road here has been anything but straightforward. The highs of a stunning loan spell at West Ham in 2021, nine goals in 16 games, briefly made him one of the most exciting players in the Premier League.
We never really got to see that version of Lingard again. Nottingham Forest came and went. Then, Seoul, where he rediscovered himself, captained the side and racked up 19 goals and 10 assists in 67 appearances over two seasons.
Corinthians had a financial dispute to resolve before talks could progress, but once those were ironed out, things moved fast.
Clube do Remo had held earlier discussions with his camp, but the scale of Corinthians, seven-time Brazilian champions with Socrates and Ronaldo Nazario among their former players, was always the better option.
