Nottingham Forest are notoriously active in the transfer market and following their promotion to the Premier League in 2022, Evangelos Marinakis went overboard with his dealings.
Having returned to England's top table after 23 long years, Forest's strategy to ensure survival was to sign any player they could get their hands on. Of course, that wasn't literally speaking, but during the summer transfer window, the Reds saw an astonishing 30 new players arrive through the City Ground doors.
While a handful have gone on to achieve success in the Garibaldi, namely striker Taiwo Awoniyi, attacking midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White, right-back Serge Aurier and defensive midfielder Orel Mangala, the likes of Josh Bowler, Lewis O'Brien and Jonjo Shelvey have endured a torrid time at the club.
One of those to flop was Jesse Lingard, who arrived on a free transfer from Manchester United, costing the club a staggering £80k per-week.
How did Jesse Lingard get on at Nottingham Forest?
For all the hype surrounding his transfer to the club, with many expecting him to single-handedly drag Forest to safety, Lingard's year in Nottingham was largely spent eating up wages without contributing to the club's fight against relegation.
Arriving with lofty expectations having previously scored for England at a World Cup and played at Champions League level for Man United, the 30-year-old disappointed across all fronts, making just ten starts in the Premier League while the only goal contributions he managed were in Carabao Cup victories over Tottenham and Blackburn.
For a player of Lingard's quality, this wasn't good enough and his displays for the club were cast under the media spotlight, with the player facing criticism for his underwhelming performances.
After Forest's 5-0 defeat against Arsenal at the Emirates last season, Lingard was slammed by former Reds' striker Glenn Murray for his inability to stamp a mark on the fixture, making no key passes, no shots on target, one tackle, five accurate passes and only one clearance.
Murray said: “So far, Jesse Lingard has been quite wasteful in possession. Nottingham Forest need more from him, especially going forward. A little bit more creativity.”
Having once been described as "amazing" by Rio Ferdinand during his successful loan spell at West Ham, which was a particularly high point in his career, Lingard reached new lows at the City Ground, but that didn't deter Steve Cooper from having faith in the Englishman turning his form around.
Following his goal contributions in the Carabao Cup, Cooper expected him to kick on and start having a bigger impact on matches, saying: "You want to see all your players at their best on game days,"
"For sure, if Jesse is at his best, he is a player who can have an impact in any game.
"He's an excellent trainer. You can see he loves football. You can see he really cares about doing well. Like all of the boys, you've got to try to turn that."
Despite praising the Englishman, Lingard didn't repay that faith as only managed an xG of 0.10, 0.86 shots, 1.54 shot-creating actions, 0.51 progressive carries and 0.68 successful take-ons all per 90, via FBref, numbers that ranked him within the worst 10% of positionally similar players in European football.
Having only signed the 5 foot 9 dud on a one-year deal, Cooper will surely be glad to see the back of Lingard, who is attracting interest from multiple clubs.
Who wants to sign Jesse Lingard next?
After his contract expired at the City Ground, Lingard is looking to resurrect his career elsewhere and while he is currently training with West Ham, other clubs from England and abroad are beginning to circle for his signature.
Following his purple patch for the Hammers in the second half of the 2020/21 season, setting the London stadium alight with nine goals and five assists in 15 appearances, David Moyes could contemplate bringing him back on a short-term deal.
Despite being impressed with what he's seen from Lingard in training, the Scot has remained tight-lipped on whether he's going to sign him.
When asked about Lingard, he told the Athletic: "Jesse’s doing quite well and he’s getting his shape back.
“But there will be no discussion on Jesse yet.
"When we’re ready, we will do; but he’s working hard and he’s shown a great attitude to his work."
West Ham aren't the only Premier League club rumoured to be showing an interest with Wolves also apparently readying a move in the coming days, according to Sky Sports, while Lingard has reportedly "received two offers" from Saudi clubs.
Wherever Lingard chooses to go next, it surely can't plan out worse than it did at Forest. Indeed, Cooper may well regret ever bringing him Trentside in the first place.