Gary Neville says he is disappointed that Jesse Lingard did not leave Manchester United in the summer.
The England international thrived on loan at West Ham in the second half of last season.
Lingard scored nine goals and provided four assists to help the Hammers secure a sixth-place finish in the Premier League.
He was linked with a permanent switch to the London Stadium throughout the summer, but when the window closed on Tuesday Lingard was still a Manchester United player.
And Neville believes the 28-year-old's career would have been better served with a move away from Old Trafford.
"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 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 [who joined Leeds] and really furthered their careers and got more football."
It is certainly hard to see where Lingard will fit in at United this season.
The attacking midfielder will be competing for a place in the team with the likes of Paul Pogba, Bruno Fernandes, Mason Greenwood, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Jadon Sancho.
He might be restricted to appearances in the domestic cup competitions and as a substitute in the Premier League.
Lingard will be out of contract at Old Trafford next summer, when he is likely to leave as a free agent.
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