Latest news with #TimothyFosuMensah
The Independent
29-06-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Timothy Fosu-Mensah believes hard work will pay off in long bid to find new club
Timothy Fosu-Mensah is convinced his hard work 'won't go unnoticed' as the former Manchester United defender looks for a new home two years on from playing his last competitive match. The Ajax youth product made his breakthrough at Old Trafford, where he graduated from the academy and made 30 first-team appearances – a figure that would have been higher were it not for loans and injury. Fosu-Mensah suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury during a spell at Fulham in 2019, with another following in February 2021 on just his seventh league appearance for new club Bayer Leverkusen. Such issues, thankfully, seem in the past and now the 27-year-old is looking to kickstart his career after spending a season as a free agent. 'Last season was the first time in my career that I've spent without a team,' Fosu-Mensah told PA. 'At this age it's quite early and I think quite strange for people. 'I know I've been working hard and hard work won't go unnoticed. That's what I believe. 'If you stay at home, you do nothing and then you think 'boom, OK, I'm going to go this club or that club', no, that's not how it works, that's not my mentality. It's definitely a fresh start and I've been working hard.' Fosu-Mensah's last competitive appearance came in April 2023 but he does not believe he will struggle to make a comeback, pointing to others forced out of the game for different reasons as well as his fitness regime. In fact, he feels as strong as ever, mentally and physically, after leaving Bayer without making an appearance during their title-winning 2023-24 season. Fosu-Mensah was on the bench a handful of times and fit for all but three weeks of that campaign, with more jarring issues following last summer's release. 'There was a couple of situations with agents here and there, which was a bit of a mess,' he said. 'People were speaking on my name who I never even had contact with. 'I would say like 80 per cent of the agents who were approaching clubs and people I didn't even know, who I didn't even had contact with. I think that was a big mess.' There were some talks during the winter about moving to the Championship – 'some of them I was aware of, some of them I wasn't,' he admitted – before a beneficial five months with Ajax. Fosu-Mensah has followed that training time with their reserves and first team, including some behind-closed-doors games, with daily summer workouts as he seeks a return. The 27-year-old spoke after one such session alongside Brian Brobbey and Steven Bergwijn from his home in the Netherlands, where a framed United shirt reading 'Fosu-Mensah 51' takes pride of place. 'I'll always be a fan of United,' Fosu-Mensah said. 'Always. I came there when I was 16, I left when I was 23. I've had many nice moments, won a couple of trophies, especially in my first season. 'We all know United, we all know the history of United, we all know what United stands for. 'Even this last season the Premier League was difficult for them but they reached the Europa League final, so it's something in the DNA of the club that they always want to win trophies. 'I have analysed the manager (Ruben Amorim) and I have seen a little bit how he plays and what he wants from his players. 'Jeremiah St Juste from Sporting Lisbon is a good friend of mine and he had great words for the manager, so I'm positive that United brought in a good manager.' Fosu-Mensah hopes 'good things will happen to the club and to the players' next season, including Marcus Rashford having made his Premier League debut alongside him against Arsenal in February 2016. 'I just want him to be happy,' he added. 'Everybody just wants him to be happy. 'The most important things is for him to feel good, for him to feel happy. Look, the quality is definitely there. Nobody needs to say anything about this quality, because he's a top player.'
The Sun
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Jesse Lingard shows off new look as Man Utd cult hero, 32, stars in GQ Korea advert
JESSE LINGARD shocked fans with a brand new hairdo while featuring in a GQ advert. Lingard, 32, signed for Korean side FC Seoul last February after his deal with Nottingham Forest came to an end. 3 Lingard spent eight months without a side after leaving the City Ground, before penning a two-year deal in the Korean capital. The former Manchester United star has scored four goals in 16 league matches for Seoul this season, who sit seventh in the K League 1. Lingard showed off his new trim in an interview with GQ Korea and admitted to visiting his barber at least once a week. The ex-England international said: "Every time I get a haircut, I like to brush. I need to be looking fresh. "Most of our games are on television, I like to look fresh. "Probably once a week, I get a haircut. Very popular in England, this haircut." Old team-mate Timothy Fosu-Mensah, who spent five years at United, was quick to compliment Lingard's new locks. People online were also quick to react to Lingard's drastic change in appearance. One X user wrote: "He looks like a K-pop star." Another added: "Bro actually looks Korean now." Lingard, who used to be partially blamed for Man Utd's downturn, recently opened up about the crisis at his boyhood club where he spent 22 years. He told BBC Sport: "They will always be one of the biggest clubs in the world and fans will support them through thick and thin. "It might be a long-term project with Ruben Amorim. He knows what he wants to do. "It's tough when you're not in the Champions League to attract players so he was relying on winning the Europa League. "It's harder to recruit when you're not in the Champions League. It's 100 per cent a factor." Lingard moved to West Ham on loan a year before his Forest switch and the Englishman bagged nine goals in 16 games. But he struggled at the City ground, featuring just 20 times before being released after a string of injuries in summer 2023. He revealed "life's good" in Korea and believes he has rapidly adapted to the different style of football. The United academy star also admitted to scoffing McDonalds and Papa Johns since moving to Korea. 3
Daily Mail
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Jesse Lingard shocks fans with 'fresh' new look - as former Man United star reveals how often he gets his hair cut in South Korea
Jesse Lingard has dazzled fans by sporting a shock new haircut as the former Manchester United star continues to enjoy life in Korea. The 32-year-old, who spent 14 years at boyhood club Manchester United, made a surprise move to FC Seoul in February last year after spending eight months without a side having being released by Nottingham Forest. The former England international has scored four goals in 16 league matches for Seoul this season, who sit seventh in the K League 1. Lingard showed off his new trim in an interview with GQ Korea and also admitted to visiting his barber at least once a week. 'Every time I get a haircut, I like to brush. I need to be looking fresh. Most of our games are on television, I like to look fresh,' he said. 'Probably once a week, I get a haircut. Very popular in England, this haircut.' Former United team-mate Fosu-Mensah was quick to compliment Lingard on his new look Old team-mate Timothy Fosu-Mensah, who spent five years at United, was quick to compliment Lingard's new style, commenting 'like the hair bro,' on his Instagram. Lingard moved to West Ham on loan a year before his Forest switch and the Englishman bagged nine goals in 16 games. But he struggled at the City ground, featuring just 20 times before being released in summer 2023. He revealed 'life's good' in Korea and believes he has rapidly adapted to the different style of football. The United academy also admitted to scoffing McDonalds and Papa Johns since moving to Korea. 'When we have our days off or I want a cheat meal... it could be McDonalds, it could be Papa Johns. 'My friend who lives with me, [he] only eats chicken. So, yeah, Gongbao Chicken, we enjoy that a lot, or the K-Dot Barbeque chicken, I like it a lot as well.' Lingard's agent recently revealed an interesting quirk in his contract, which sees an unusually large commercial element. Tom Keane told the Overlap: 'So, part of that [contract] was Jesse would be paid his football salary but because of his sort of name and what he could bring to the club, there was a percentage of ticket sales, merchandise and corporate partnerships. 'So, like, this quite complex commercial deal. So, that was part of it. But then there was this cultural thing where I saw draft contracts... like that aspect of it was dealt with in like two lines. 'We spoke to the club and there was very much like 'well we've discussed it'. So, they kind of trust us. 'And I was like but 'we don't work like that here in Europe'. 'That was like culturally quite interesting and with that contract we obviously got into a place we were happy with.'
