Manchester United's former coach Rene Meulensteen compares Jesse Lingard to Barcelona's talismanic midfielder: 'I always believed he was the English Andres Iniesta'

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Former Manchester United youth and first-team coach Rene Meulensteen has dubbed Jesse Lingard the 'English Andres Iniesta' following his superb run of form this season.

The 25-year-old was brought into the first team by Louis van Gaal in the summer of 2016 but it is underJose Mourinho that the Englishman has presented a strong case to be on the plane to Russia for the World Cup in June.

And the Dutchman was full of praise for the Warrington-born midfielder, who has scored 11 goals in 29 matches this season.

Dutch coach Rene Meulensteen has dubbed Jesse Lingard (R) the 'English Andres Iniesta'

The former Manchester United youth coach compared Lingard's playing style to Iniesta's (R)

'I saw so many similarities in their games, and I always believed that Jesse was the English Andres Iniesta,' Meulensteen told Bleacher Report.

'Like Iniesta, he finds these pockets of space, he is always on the move and has very good feet. The only thing missing until recently was goals, but now Jesse is scoring important goals too.

'In my opinion, you could fly Jesse to Barcelona, let him play in Iniesta's position, and he would comfortably be able to do it and fit in. And he does it in the Premier League, which is more difficult than La Liga, so that is a credit to Jesse.'

The 53-year-old wasn't the only person that saw Lingard's potential all those years ago while he was in United's youth ranks.

Meulensteen (R) oversaw Lingard's development during his time as youth coach at United

Ruud van Nistelrooy (L) and Diego Forlan (R) were both impressed by the attacking midfielder

Meulensteen claims both Ruud van Nistelrooy and Diego Forlan were impressed by the attacking midfielder when they watched him during a practice session.

The Dutch coach said: 'I can recall players like Ruud van Nistelrooy and Diego Forlan coming down to watch our sessions, and when they saw Jesse both said, "Jesus, this boy is good!"'

Lingard hasn't always been a fan-favourite or one of the marquee players that so often come through the doors at Old Trafford.

Fans even laughed at the fact he had signed a new four-year contract last season that put him on £100,000-a-week.

Despite the criticism and the doubts, Lingard has kept his head down and is now starting to realise his full potential.

The 25-year-old has scored 11 goals in 29 matches for the Red Devils this season