After The Reds beat off strong competition to secure his signature, here's an in-depth look at Jesse Lingard's career to date...
Born in Warrington on 15th December 1992, Lingard signed for the Manchester United Academy in 2000 after initially turning out for local youth sides Fletcher Moss Rangers and Penketh United.
The attacking midfielder progressed through the age groups and was a key part of United's FA Youth Cup winning side in 2010/11 alongside now-Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba before signing his first professional terms at the end of that campaign.
Sir Alex Ferguson named Lingard in a matchday squad for the first time in November 2011 for a League Cup fixture against Crystal Palace at Old Trafford before securing a loan spell to Leicester City the following season, making 5 appearances across a one-month spell for The Foxes and his senior debut coming against Bolton Wanderers in November 2012.
Lingard then linked-up with Birmingham City for a further loan spell where he'd hit the ground running at St Andrew's, scoring a phenomenal four goals on his debut against Sheffield Wednesday during the 2013-14 campaign.
A spell at Brighton & Hove Albion followed later that campaign where Lingard scored on four occassions during The Seagulls' run to the Championship play-offs.
Returning to Manchester United for the 2014/15 campaign, the attacking midfielder made his Premier League debut for The Red Devils as Louis Van Gaal named him in the starting XI for the first time against Swansea City on the opening day of the season.
Jesse's breakthrough season for United came in 2015/16, netting his first goal for the club against West Brom in November 2015 before a regular run in the side saw him make 40 appearances in all competitions, including scoring the winning goal against Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final at Wembley.
Lingard was on the scoresheet again a couple of months later at Wembley as his goal contributed to the Red Devils lifting the Community Shield following a 2-1 win against former side Leicester City, and returned again in February 2017 to find the back of the net in a 3-2 EFL Cup triumph against Southampton to help his side to more silverware.
Just a couple of months before that in October 2016, Lingard made his senior England debut during a World Cup qualifier against Malta, having previously represented his country up until Under 21 level and was involved heavily as United lifted the Europea League at the end of the 2016/17 season to place alongside the Community Shield and EFL Cup.
A new, long-term contract followed and Jesse would become a regular for United and England, being called up to represent The Three Lions a total of 32 times to date including playing a key role in the run to the World Cup semi-finals in 2018.
Jesse made six appearances during the World Cup campaign, netting once and registering two assists.
During the 2018/19 season, Lingard became a regular in the side under new boss Ole Gunnar Solskjær and scored the goal in the 2019/20 season that secured United's UEFA Champions League spot on the final day of the campaign.
In January 2021, Lingard linked-up with former Manchester United manager David Moyes at West Ham United and played a pivotal role for The Hammers in the second part of the season, scoring 9 goals in 16 appearances whilst registering a further 5 assists and picking up the Premier League Player of the Month and Goal of the Month for April along the way.
Returning to Manchester for the 2021/22 campaign, Lingard left the Red Devils after a 22 year association with the club this summer and joins Forest as our eleventh new signing ahead of our Premier League opener against Newcastle United next month.
Welcome to Nottingham Forest, Jesse!