'Are you just gonna f*ck about in the gym?' - Jesse Lingard sent brutal message by Man Utd legend Paul Scholes after entering seventh month as a free agent

Ex-England international Lingard has been without a club since being released by Nottingham Forest at the end of the 2022-23 campaign. He has taken in trials with Premier League side West Ham and Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Ettifaq since then, but no contract offer has been put to him.

Everton have been credited with interest in Lingard of late, while a move to join Lionel Messi in MLS has also been speculated on, but for now the 31-year-old midfielder is having to work on his own. He has spent time in Dubai over the winter, with every effort being made to keep his fitness up.

Scholes has, however, taken issue with Lingard spending more time in the gym than out on the football field, with the United legend – who was at Old Trafford when Lingard graduated out of the Red Devils’ famed academy system – posting in response to another workout image: “Are you just gonna f*ck about in the gym or are you gonna actually play football?”

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Lingard has spoken on a regular basis of his desire to find another club, with it his opinion that he still has plenty to offer. He has, however, endured form and fitness struggles over recent years and needs somebody to take a calculated gamble on him in 2024.