Jesse Lingard endured a debut to forget as Nottingham Forest were comfortably beaten 2-0 by a confident Newcastle United side at St James' Park on Saturday.
The 29-year-old joined the Reds on a free transfer after leaving Manchester United at the end of last season and made his debut for his new club in the opening weekend defeat. It proved to be a frustrating day at the office for Lingard, as he failed to impress in the North East.
Goals from Fabian Schar and Callum Wilson earned the Magpies all three points as Forest lost their first game back in the top flight after a 23-year exodus. Steve Cooper named a number of new faces in his starting XI, including Harry Toffolo, Lewis O'Brien, Neco Williams and Dean Henderson.
But it was Lingard's performance which caught the headlines after the game as he struggled to make an impact. Lingard won none of his seven duels, didn't complete one successful dribble and failed to win a tackle. He also only had one shot on goal, which was subsequently blocked by Schar.
Although this was just Lingard's second game for the Reds after appearing just once in pre-season, his display was still criticised on social media despite receiving some support from Forest fans. Lingard said on Instagram : "Happy to make my @officialnffc debut, can't wait to see you all at the City Ground next weekend, thank you for your support."
Forest are also looking to add another attacking midfielder to their ranks, with the Reds interested in Morgan Gibbs-White. Wolves have already knocked back three bids for the player and they are holding out for an offer in the region of £40million (£30m plus £10m add-ons), which could be accepted.
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Cooper is keen to reunite with Gibbs-White, who he worked with at England Under 17s, and the player also impressed against Forest in the Championship play-off semi-final last season whilst on loan at Sheffield United. Gibbs-White is believed to be keen on a move to Forest despite starting for Wolves on the opening day against Leeds United. He has also reportedly refused to discuss a new contract with his current deal set to expire in 2024.
Forest have been the busiest Premier League side in the transfer window thus far. It took The Reds until the end of June to announce their first summer signing, however, when Taiwo Awoniyi joined in a record breaking £18.5m deal from Union Berlin, having scored 25 goals in all competitions last season. That was the first of a number of quick-fire additions as Cooper began to rebuild his new-look squad.
Henderson arrived on a season-long loan deal from Manchester United, while Giulian Biancone, Omar Mangala Moussa Niakhaté, Omar Richards and Williams have all made the switch to Forest for a combined £56m. Wayne Hennessey joined from Burnley on a free transfer to provide back-up for Henderson, before Forest completed the double swoop of O'Brien and Toffolo from Huddersfield.
