Former AC Milan striker Luther Blisset has urged Jesse Lingard to swap Manchester United for Serie A.

Blissett, who left Watford for AC Milan for a year during his playing days, urged Lingard to follow the likes of Chris Smalling and Ashley Young and head to Italy.

"For him, at this stage, I think it might be ideal," he told the Daily Star. "I found it very beneficial playing in Italy. And even when I stopped playing and started coaching, you try and pass things on that you've picked up.

"If you're not getting the opportunity in England, why not look further afield? Because United have been going through this strange period over the last few years, players can get lost as the manager looks to develop a way of playing.

"Then, if you pick up an injury and another player comes in and they move the bar, it's difficult.

"From an education angle as a player, it's brilliant to go and sample a different culture. It makes you a more rounded person.

"If that United team was challenging for the league, he'd have already matured a lot quicker. Other senior players would have been focussed on that end goal.

"Going abroad could definitely help as he won't have people around that he's grown up with. He'd need to work to settle in, not just in a team but in a new country."