Jesse Lingard back at Man Utd?! Former Red Devils star trains with Lioness Gabby George during FC Seoul's off-season

Following the conclusion of FC Seoul's season, ex-Red Devils ace Lingard has been keeping fit in preparation for the 2025 campaign. And on Monday, Lingard posed for a photo with his cousin and Lionesses defender George after what appeared to be a workout in Manchester.

Lingard left Nottingham Forest as a free agent in June 2023, but it wasn't until February of this year that he joined K-League team Seoul. He has had his ups and downs in recent times but he seems to be enjoying himself in South Korean football. And United star George is thriving in her own right for club and country, too.

Lingard explained why he took a long break from football before joining Seoul earlier this year.

"For pretty much the entire season [with Forest] I suffered severe tendinitis in my knees and Achilles. Sometimes I played in pain and other times I was just too sore to play at all. The only cure was rest but, in the summer, when I was out of contract, my nan got ill. She was an amazing woman - Pamela Lingard - and she and my grandad brought me up while, for long parts of my childhood, my mum battled depression," he said.

"But over the course of last summer, she became really poorly. She was in and out of hospital and though I was training hard and missed being at a club, it felt like being out of contract was God’s plan: I’m not going to give you a team right now, you need to stay home and be with your family. So that’s what I did. I spent as much time as I could with them and in November, when Nan passed away, Grandad took it really hard. He was depressed and suffering dizzy spells and was hospitalised himself. He needed looking after too, and there was the funeral to organise and a speech to give."

While Lingard prepares for the new season, George will be in action for United in the FA Cup at home to West Brom on January 11.