Nottingham Forest and summer signing Jesse Lingard have so far proven former player-turned-pundit Rio Ferdinand right with his pre-season prediction of how the transfer would play out.
The pair were Manchester United teammates for a time as Lingard was breaking through into the first-team squad at Old Trafford, with the youngster featuring on the bench during a 3-0 defeat to Newcastle United in January 2012 as Ferdinand played the entire match. Lingard went on to make more than 200 appearances for his boyhood club before deciding to leave at the end of his contract for the Reds, rather than West Ham United, this summer after limited minutes over recent seasons.
Since arriving at the City Ground, the 32-cap England international has made six appearances but is still yet to score or assist a goal in Garibaldi. Head coach Steve Cooper's side have not fared much better either, collectively, following up a positive start to the season with four consecutive Premier League defeats before the international break.
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Ferdinand was critical of both parties back in August when the switch was sealed, and those points have proved to be true two months into the season. "He’s gone and signed a one-year deal at Nottingham Forest, who will likely be relegation threatened," Ferdinand said.
"Jesse, I just feel West Ham was such a great fit; will he be smiling at Nottingham Forest when they don’t have the ball? They’re going to be getting beat every week."
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