Al-Ettifaq may well need to move on some of their summer signings if they want to sign Jesse Lingard.
Former Manchester United and Nottingham Forest midfielder Jesse Lingard has had a promising time under Steven Gerrard in the Saudi Pro League but he may be forced to wait if he wants to join the Middle Eastern side.
Lingard played for the club in a friendly this week and took just four minutes to find the back of the net.
His move to play under Steven Gerrard’s Saudi side has not yet been completed but according to the Mirror, the deal is set to be a formality.
However, domestic rules state that Saudi Pro League clubs can only have a maximum of eight foreign players in their matchday squad.
Al-Ettifaq already have 10 foreign players on their books and must offload some before registering new non-Saudi players.
Lingard’s future
The English midfielder reportedly had trials at DC United and Inter Miami but neither side in the MLS decided to pull the trigger and sign the Englishman.
It seems like the Saudi side would like to sign the Englishman but will not be able to unless they sell some of their new signings.
Georginio Wijnaldum and Jordan Henderson have been successful signings so far for the Saudi side so they are surely safe from the firesale that may well be needed.
It may well be tough to take for Lingard who has had a tough few years following his departure from United and the hope will be that the midfielder can complete the move to the Saudi club.