‘Hard slog’ – Jesse Lingard warned over shock transfer to little-known side

Jesse Lingard has been told to draw out his negotiations with Remo to entice other Brazilian clubs into making an offer for him.

The 33-year-old has been warned that there are easier ways to earn money than signing for the little-known South American team, which would be the ninth of his professional career.

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The former England international has been a free agent since terminating his contract at South Korean side FC Seoul in December.

talkSPORT previously revealed that Lingard was likely to join another overseas club after failing to secure a return to West Ham.

The Hammers were among the Premier League clubs who rejected the chance to re-sign Lingard in the final days of the transfer window.

The 32-cap star was linked with a reunion with Raheem Sterling under ex-Manchester United star Robin van Persie at Feyenoord.

However, Lingard has since entered talks with Remo, who are winless in the opening three matches of the new Brazilian top-flight season.

Leo Azul only ended their 31-year absence from the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A last year and have also been in the third tier.

Lingard ‘in talks’ with Remo

South American football expert Tim Vickery told talkSPORT’s Hawksbee & Groves: “He’s in talks with a club called Remo, which means rowing loads of the big Brazilian clubs started life as rowing clubs.

“Anyway, it is a little bit left field.

“Remo are right up in the north of Brazil, Belem, which is actually the Portuguese translation of Bethlehem.

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“There was once a Brazilian player who went to play there, and he said, ‘I am so honoured to be playing in the very place where [Jesus] Christ was born.’

“And it had to be explained that that really wasn’t the case. But anyway, what I wonder is going on here, because Remo are newly promoted and everyone expects them to go straight back down.

“Three rounds into the Brazilian championship, they’ve got two draws and a defeat. It’s a hard slog that you’re going there, Jesse Lingard.

“If you’re going to go there, it’s a hard slog. First, because you’re going to be battling against relegation all year.

“Secondly, because look at the map. Now, the heartland of Brazilian football is in the southeast. Rio, São Paulo, and Belo Horizonte.

“Remo, where they are, almost every away game is like a four-hour plane journey. Brazil is vast.”

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“So there are easier ways to earn your money than signing for Remo,” Vickery continued.

“What I wonder, this is putting on my Dick Dastardly and his snickering hound hat, because what I would do in the circumstances is draw the negotiation out a little bit, see if anyone else comes through.

“Maybe there’ll be more Brazilian clubs…That’s what I would do in his situation.”