Former Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen has described midfielder Jesse Lingard as “the English Iniesta” after his terrific first half of the season at Old Trafford.

The 25-year-old is in the form of his life, having bagged eleven goals and five assists in 29 appearances this campaign, and has become a key man for Jose Mourinho in an incredibly competitive midfield.

Now, his former coach Meulensteen – who helped nuture Lingard as a youngster at United – has said he believes his former prodigy is a special player who can on to great things at Old Trafford.

“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.”

Not only does Meulensteen believe Lingard has the qualities to succeed in England, but he also went on to suggest he could do so in some of the world’s biggest sides, including Barcelona.

“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.’”