Manchester United news: Jesse Lingard is named "Iniesta English" by former Red Devils coach Rene Meulensteen

Jesse Lingard has been featured as "the English version of Andres Iniesta" by Rene Meulensteen, the Manchester United midfielder being considered to share many attributes with a Barcelona legend.

A graduate of a 26-year-old academy, Old Trafford has not always benefited from such an invoice.

Several loan periods were taken before Louis van Gaal finally gave him United leave in 2015-2016.

Lingard has never regretted his participation in more than 150 appearances and scored 29 goals, including a number of vital efforts to serve Wembley's masterpieces.

He is now considered a key player in the club and the English national team, with Meulensteen believing that his creative qualities would always flourish at one time or another.

Sir Alex Ferguson's former badistant said 888sport"Sir Alex has always had a clear idea of ​​what a good player looks like and he must have fast feet, a fast brain and a big heart.

"That's basically all that Jesse had, but he was very light for his age. I worked with him from the age of eight or nine and I took him overseas for tournaments. He always had to fight because he was of a tiny size.

"But all things are leveling and finally, these three things make the difference: fast feet, fast brain and big heart. And he did very well.

"Fans must always badociate with players who have climbed the ladder.

"While I was there and Sir Alex was there, it was so important to keep bringing in young players.

"The difference with Jesse is that he has always been the English version of Iniesta. He can play in the pockets, he is very mobile and very agile.

"He can beat a man and he is good in combination. In recent seasons, he has also started to score important goals. "

The emergence of Lingard has helped to reinforce the ranks of creativity at Old Trafford, but United is still short of other areas.

Additions in the middle half have been pursued for some time and Meulensteen concedes that reinforcements are needed to help complete Victor Lindelof's impressive development.

The Dutchman said: "Stability is an important thing, especially in the last four. Most successful teams are able to play with a strong and stable back line, including the goalkeeper.

"It's normal with a club like Manchester United that a player takes a little time to settle in, but you can see now that Victor has settled down.

"He has played several games so he starts to find his bearings and learn what is needed to play at this level.

"He did well, but defense remains an area that people are very interested in. Antonio Valencia is progressing and Ashley Young is a little older but is still doing a great job.

"You need a very good central defender alongside Lindelof, able to lead from the back and stabilize everything.

"If you look at the firepower and pace that United has on the front, as well as the diversity of its capabilities, they can scare all defenses in the Premier League and Europe.

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"In the midfield, they are strong. You have Paul Pogba in the foreground and you are improving. Nemanja Matic is very strong with a lot of experience.

"But maybe you could use another creative player, a smuggler who can unlock the defenses from the deepest."

Read the full interview of Rene Meulensteen on 888sport, including his reasons why Pogba flourishes fully thanks to the responsibility that Solskjaer has put on his shoulders.