Paul Scholes believes Manchester United should reintegrate Jesse Lingard back into their squad as competition for Bruno Fernandes.
The West Ham United loanee has been in sensational form for the Hammers after joining the club in January, scoring eight goals and registering three assists in nine Premier League matches.
West Ham are keen to sign Lingard permanently whilst Declan Rice is keen on a move to Manchester United, which adds a further complication to his future.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was coy when asked if Lingard could pen a new contract at Old Trafford but Scholes believes the Englishman should be brought back into first-team plans to offer Fernandes competition.
"The impact he's had has been brilliant, better than anyone could have expected," Scholes told talkSPORT 2.
"He had a tough time at United which came from bringing Bruno Fernandes in, they're players in similar positions and you couldn't argue with what Bruno has done.
"Jesse needed to play football, he needs a chance and West Ham gave him that chance. You can see the quality. I knew the quality from working with Jesse as an 18-year-old, 19-year-old kid, as a coach.
"His fitness was never going to be a problem even though he hadn't played in a while. He's so fit, so professional and he's been sensational.
"For Ole, it would be great to bring him back, to give competition to Bruno Fernandes. When he isn't quite doing it, there's a player in Jesse Lingard who is capable of reaching the same heights.
"His numbers from his West Ham time are as good as Bruno's. It's always good to have competition in the squad and hopefully he and Ole will want to do that as well."
He added: "I would want to come back and prove I can play in that team every week.
"It'll be difficult if Bruno Fernandes is going to be fit every week but the lad I know in Jesse, he's a Man United lad, he'll be desperate to play for Man United.
"Whether he'll give it a bit more time after the form he's been in to get back in the squad, I don't know. One thing he is doing, he's bumping his price up."
