Gary Neville is 'disappointed' that Jesse Lingard didn't secure a move away from Manchester United this summer as the former Red Devil believes the midfielder 'had something going on' at West Ham.
The 28-year-old England star fell out of favour at United and was sent out on loan to the Hammers last season, where he won numerous plaudits for his performances.
Lingard enjoyed his spell at the London Stadium, scoring nine goals and providing four assists in 16 appearances after arriving in January.
Upon the completion of his loan, Lingard has now been reintegrated into Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's squad despite West Ham's eagerness to make the deal permanent over the summer.
But Neville is not convinced that was the right choice as he believes Lingard, along with a handful of other fringe players, should have made the permanent move away from Old Trafford to further his career.
'I would actually have thought that a couple more players at Manchester United [would have left]. I’m disappointed for Jesse Lingard that he’s not left Manchester United,' he told Sky Sports.
‘He’ll get a few games, he’ll get moments on the pitch, he’ll contribute, but I think he had something going at West Ham last year that meant Jesse Lingard in his own right was standing up as a really good player.
‘To go back to being a squad player again I think, for me, is disappointing. I think you sometimes have to sort of fly the nest and go. I thought he’d already done that with what he did last year.
‘So I think there’s two or three players that won’t get a lot of game time this year that could have joined Dan James and really furthered their careers and got more football.’
This summer's transfer window saw the arrival of Jadon Sancho and the sensational homecoming of Cristiano Ronaldo to bolster United's already jam packed attacking ranks.
The talismanic Bruno Fernandes prefers a central No 10 role, with United's winger positions well stocked with £73m signing Sancho, Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood and Paul Pogba capable of playing out wide.
Meanwhile, a different Ronaldo to the one who last set this league alight is coming back to Old Trafford but he is still guaranteed to breeze into Solskjaer's side up front.
Lingard's regular game-time is therefore far from guaranteed with the Red Devils, despite his fine pre-season and form last campaign.
Neville also claimed Dan James's £25m move to Premier League rivals Leeds United was the right decision for the benefit of his career.
The Sky Sports pundit added: 'I think it’s really good for Dan James. I think this is one of those where it’s a win-win, there’s no sadness for me in Dan James leaving because I think he came to United, he always did his very best, he was a massive threat on the counter-attack.
'Manchester United have got a lot of players in those types of areas and I think it’s really important for young players to go and play. And Leeds have always wanted him, they wanted him first time around when Manchester United got him.
‘He’ll suit the way in which Leeds play. You think of the way Leeds play on the counter-attack with such speed, one-on-ones all over the pitch, he’ll love it there.
‘The crowd there is a big crowd, they’re a club who demand a lot as well, so I think it’s a good thing for Man United to get the money that they’ve got and I think it’s a good thing for Dan James that he furthers his career at a good club.’