Ex Man Utd coach told Lingard to emulate Iniesta

Will Ford

Former Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen used to tell Jesse Lingard to try to emulate Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta.

Lingard has had been on a terrible run of form, without a goal or an assist in this calendar year.

Meulensteen, who coached the 26-year-old in the academy for six years, has revealed how he used Iniesta as inspiration for Lingard.

Speaking on Stadium Astro, reported by the Daily Star, the 55-year-old said: “When I come in 2001 as a skills development coach, Jesse was one of the first players in that team I was working with.

“They were eight or nine years of age then.

“When you work with them young, you see their characteristic traits.

“Jesse was full of beans and tactically very good but he was always small and tiny.

“As he grew older, I said to him you need to look as much as you can towards Iniesta.

“That’s the sort of player you are, coming in through the gaps and getting on the front foot.”

The Dutchman admitted Lingard’s recent performances do not reflect the quality of the player he coached in the United academy.

Meulensteen added: “At the moment he still finds the gaps.

“But there’s no cutting edge in terms of running at people and getting behind.

“He had a spell two years when he scoring a number of goals.

“For some reason, it’s faded away.”